NEWELL RUBBERMAID INC. (Exact Name of Registrant As Specified in Its Charter)

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): July 28, 2005 NEWELL RUBBERMAID INC. (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Delaware 1-9608 36-3514169 (State or Other Jurisdiction (Commission (IRS Employer of Incorporation) File Number) Identification No.)

10 B Glenlake Parkway Suite 600 Atlanta, Georgia 30328 (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code:(770) 407-3800 Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below): o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement. On July 28, 2005, Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (the “Company”) entered into an agreement with a subsidiary of Esselte Group Holdings AB, a Swedish corporation (“Esselte”), to acquire Esselte’s DYMO business. DYMO, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is a global leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of on-demand labeling solutions, and will become part of the Company’s Office Products Group. The purchase price is approximately $730 million in cash, payable at closing and subject to adjustment for working capital and other items. The transaction is structured as a stock purchase of various Esselte subsidiaries, and the agreement contains customary representations, warranties, covenants and conditions, as well as indemnification provisions subject to specified limitations. The transaction is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals and is expected to close by year end. The agreement is subject to termination if the transaction is not completed by December 30, 2005.

Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure A copy of the Company’s press release announcing the agreement to acquire the DYMO business, and related Acquisition of Dymo Investment Highlights, is furnished as an exhibit to this Report and incorporated by reference in this Item 7.01.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

Exhibit Description Number 99.1 Press Release, dated July 28, 2005, issued by Newell Rubbermaid Inc., captioned “NEWELL RUBBERMAID TO ACQUIRE DYMO FROM ESSELTE,” and related Acquisition of Dymo Investment Highlights.

SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

NEWELL RUBBERMAID INC.

Date: July 29, 2005 By: /s/ Dale L. Matschullat Dale L. Matschullat Vice President — General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No. Description 99.1 Press Release, dated July 28, 2005, issued by Newell Rubbermaid Inc., captioned “NEWELL RUBBERMAID TO ACQUIRE DYMO FROM ESSELTE,” and related Acquisition of Dymo Investment Highlights.

JULY 28, 2005 NEWS RELEASE PAGE 1 OF 3

NEWELL RUBBERMAID TO ACQUIRE DYMO Newell Rubbermaid Inc. FROM ESSELTE Atlanta, GA Strengthens Company’s Global Leadership Position in Office Products Securities Listed NYSE Acquisition Expected to be Accretive in 2006 Common Stock ATLANTA, July 28, 2005 — Newell Rubbermaid Inc. (NYSE: NWL) announced today it has reached a definitive (Symbol: NWL) agreement to acquire DYMO, a global leader in designing, manufacturing and marketing on-demand labeling solutions, www.newellrubbermaid.com for approximately $730 million in cash. The acquisition, which is expected to close by year-end, is subject to applicable regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Newell Rubbermaid expects the acquisition to be neutral to Jesse Herron earnings in 2005 and approximately $0.06 per share accretive in 2006. DYMO is a division of Esselte Group Holdings AB. Vice President, Investor Relations Through its well-known product lines including LabelWriter®, LabelManager®, LetraTAG® and RhinoPro, DYMO has 10B Glenlake Parkway, built a strong position in consumer, office and industrial channels in North America, Europe and Australia, supported by Suite 600 innovative, patented new products and broad distribution. DYMO offers a comprehensive range of manual and electronic Atlanta, GA 30328 labelmakers, PC and Macintosh connected label printers and related consumables for all its products. DYMO, Phone: 770-407-3994 headquartered in Stamford, Conn., generated global net sales of approximately $225 million in 2004. Fax: 770-407-3983 Joseph Galli, chief executive officer of Newell Rubbermaid, said, “The combination of DYMO and our writing instruments Cari Davidson and office products business represents a significant opportunity given the complementary nature of the product lines, Manager, Public Relations distribution networks and geographies. This is an excellent example of our commitment to transform our portfolio into a 10B Glenlake Parkway, focused group of leadership platforms through investment in high-quality brands with a proven track record of bringing Suite 600 innovative new products to the category.” Atlanta, GA 30328 Magnus Nicolin, chief executive officer of Esselte, said, “Over the last three years we have invested heavily in DYMO to Phone: 770-407-3994 substantially build the business. Today’s announcement is a confirmation of our success in this effort.” Fax: 770-407-3983 Newell Rubbermaid Office Products Group President, Steve Marton added, “We are excited about the opportunity to add FOR ESSELTE: DYMO to our leadership portfolio of branded writing instruments and office products. The talented team at DYMO has Chris Curran done a tremendous job developing category-leading products and technologies. By leveraging this portfolio and our Director of Public Relations strong distribution capabilities, we believe we can maximize this compelling growth opportunity.” Office: 203-355-9022 Mobile: 203-570-7564 Phil Damiano, president of DYMO, will remain with the organization and lead this strategic business unit within Newell Rubbermaid’s Office Products Group.

JULY 28, 2005 NEWS RELEASE PAGE 2 OF 3

Mr. Damiano said, “DYMO has an impressive track record of growth. The combined strengths of DYMO and Newell Newell Rubbermaid Inc. Rubbermaid in the consumer, office and industrial channels will allow us to build on this success.” Atlanta, GA Newell Rubbermaid’s Office Products Group accounted for $1.7 billion of the company’s $6.5 billion in sales in 2004. The Securities Listed group manufactures and markets writing instruments, art products and office organization supplies, led by a powerful NYSE brand family including Sharpie®, Paper Mate®, Parker®, Waterman®, EXPO®, uni-ball®, and Rolodex®. Common Stock (Symbol: NWL) Esselte plans to use the proceeds of this transaction to substantially repay all of its current outstanding debt. In that connection, Esselte plans on the closing date to call for redemption its then outstanding 7.625% senior notes due in 2011, www.newellrubbermaid.com in accordance with Article III of the note indenture. Jesse Herron Esselte will focus its energies on supporting its global filing and organization business which consists of Pendaflex and Vice President, Investor Oxford in the U.S. and Esselte and Leitz throughout the rest of the world. Additionally, it is expected that Esselte will Relations devote increasingly more resources to building its creative division which is made up of the Xyron craft and hobby 10B Glenlake Parkway, business. The crafting industry has been rapidly growing for the past four years. Esselte sees this business as its next Suite 600 growth engine. Atlanta, GA 30328 Phone: 770-407-3994 Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements Fax: 770-407-3983 The statements in this press release that are not historical in nature constitute forward-looking statements. These forward- Cari Davidson looking statements relate to information or assumptions about the impact of the acquisition on earnings, internal sales, Manager, Public Relations income/(loss), earnings per share, capital expenditures, cash flow, dividends, restructuring, impairment and other charges, 10B Glenlake Parkway, potential losses on divestiture, costs and cost savings and management’s plans, projections and objectives for future Suite 600 operations and performance. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking Atlanta, GA 30328 statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward- Phone: 770-407-3994 looking statements include, but are not limited to, our dependence on the strength of retail economies in various parts of Fax: 770-407-3983 the world; competition with numerous other manufacturers and distributors of consumer products; major retailers’ strong bargaining power; changes in the prices of raw materials used by the company; our ability to develop innovative new FOR ESSELTE: products and to develop, maintain and strengthen our end-user brands; our ability to improve productivity and streamline Chris Curran operations; our ability to integrate previously acquired businesses; the risks inherent in our foreign operations and those Director of Public Relations factors listed in the company’s first quarter 2005 Form 10-Q, including Exhibit 99.1 thereto, filed with the Securities and Office: 203-355-9022 Exchange Commission. Mobile: 203-570-7564 About Newell Rubbermaid Newell Rubbermaid Inc. is a global marketer of consumer and commercial products with 2004 sales of $6.5 billion and a powerful brand family including Sharpie®, Paper Mate®, Parker®, Waterman®, Rubbermaid®, Calphalon®, Little Tikes®, Graco®, Levolor®, BernzOmatic®,

JULY 28, 2005 NEWS RELEASE PAGE 3 OF 3

VISE-GRIP®, IRWIN® and LENOX®. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., and has over 31,000 employees Newell Rubbermaid Inc. worldwide. Atlanta, GA This press release and additional financial information about the company is available on the company’s web site at Securities Listed www.newellrubbermaid.com. NYSE Common Stock About Esselte (Symbol: NWL) Esselte, whose registered office is in Solna, Sweden, and whose executive office is in Stamford, Conn., USA, is a leading www.newellrubbermaid.com global office supplies manufacturer with 2004 annual sales of approximately $1.2 billion, operations in 33 countries (including Hong Kong) and approximately 5,600 employees worldwide. The Company develops, manufactures and sells Jesse Herron products that simplify the modern home and workplace. Esselte sells more than 20,000 different office product SKUs in Vice President, Investor over 120 countries. In addition to DYMO its principal brands include Esselte, Leitz, Pendaflex and Xyron. For more Relations information about the company please visit www.esselte.com. 10B Glenlake Parkway, Suite 600 For more information about DYMO please visit www.dymo.com. Atlanta, GA 30328 Phone: 770-407-3994 Fax: 770-407-3983 Cari Davidson Manager, Public Relations 10B Glenlake Parkway, Suite 600 Atlanta, GA 30328 Phone: 770-407-3994 Fax: 770-407-3983 FOR ESSELTE: Chris Curran Director of Public Relations Office: 203-355-9022 Mobile: 203-570-7564

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