The parent company that owns Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. announced that the Brookfield, Wis.-based unit would be sold.

Atlas Copco Group plans to sell Milwaukee Electric, along with its interest in AEG Electric Tools, a German tool manufacturer. Milwaukee Electric manufactures heavy-duty power tools used primarily by those in the building trades. Milwaukee has been in operation for 80 years. Atlas Copco bought the company in 1995.

Bryan Hantke, group channel manager for Milwaukee Electric, said he's taking a "wait and see" approach to the impending sale, admitting that he and his colleagues weren't aware of the specifics of the deal, adding that those things "were done at a higher level."

"Given the economic climate of the times, it was no shock to us. Mergers and acquisitions, along with other consolidations, are happening frequently these days. But it could be a good thing, we'll just have to wait and see," he said during the recent ISCON convention in Orlando.

In a statement, Göran Gezelius, senior executive vice president with the Atlas Copco Group, said that "Atlas Copco's electric tool business is stable and profitable, and it has significant market share, particularly in North America. The business is, however, still far from the Group's desired position of globally being number one or two in the markets we serve."