DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

About Griffon Corporation

Griffon Corporation (the “Company” or “Griffon”) is a diversified management and holding company that conducts business through wholly-owned subsidiaries. Griffon oversees the operations of its subsidiaries, allocates resources among them and manages their capital structures. Griffon provides direction and assistance to its subsidiaries in connection with acquisition and growth opportunities as well as in connection with divestitures. In order to further diversify, Griffon also seeks out, evaluates and, when appropriate, will acquire additional businesses that offer potentially attractive returns on capital.

Headquartered in New York, N.Y., the Company was founded in 1959 and is incorporated in Delaware. Griffon is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and trades under the symbol GFF.

On June 4, 2018, Clopay Building Products Company, Inc. ("CBP") acquired CornellCookson, Inc. ("CornellCookson"), a leading US manufacturer and marketer of rolling steel door and grille products designed for commercial, industrial, institutional and retail use, for $180,000, subject to certain post-closing adjustments and excluding the present value of net tax benefits under current tax law resulting from the transaction. The accounts, affected for preliminary adjustments to reflect fair market values assigned to assets purchased and liabilities assumed, and results of operations of CornellCookson, are included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements from the date of acquisition of June 4, 2018. See Note 3, Acquisitions.

On November 16, 2017, Griffon announced it entered into a definitive agreement to sell Clopay Plastic Products Company, Inc. ("PPC") and on February 6, 2018, completed the sale to Berry Global, Inc. (NYSE:BERY) ("Berry") for $475,000 in cash, subject to certain post-closing adjustments. As a result, Griffon classified the results of operations of the PPC business as discontinued operations in the Consolidated Statements of Operations for all periods presented and classified the related assets and liabilities associated with the discontinued operations in the consolidated balance sheets. All results and information presented exclude PPC unless otherwise noted. See Note 14, Discontinued Operations.

On October 2, 2017, Griffon acquired ClosetMaid LLC ("ClosetMaid") for approximately $185,700, subject to certain post-closing adjustments and excluding the present value of net tax benefits under current tax law resulting from the transaction. ClosetMaid, founded in 1965, is a leading North American manufacturer and marketer of closet organization, home storage, and garage storage products, and sells to some of the largest home center retail chains, mass merchandisers, and direct-to-builder professional installers in North America. The accounts, affected for preliminary adjustments to reflect fair market values assigned to assets purchased and liabilities assumed, and results of operations of ClosetMaid are included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements from the date of acquisition of October 2, 2017. See Note 3, Acquisitions.

Griffon currently conducts its operations through two reportable segments:


•	Home & Building Products (“HBP”) segment consists of three companies, The AMES Companies, Inc. (“AMES”), ClosetMaid and CBP:

- AMES, founded in 1774, is the leading U.S. manufacturer and a global provider of long-handled tools and landscaping products for homeowners and professionals.

- ClosetMaid, founded in 1965, is a leading North American manufacturer and marketer of closet organization, home storage, and garage storage products, and sells to some of the largest home center retail chains, mass merchandisers, and direct-to-builder professional installers.

- CBP, since 1964, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of residential and commercial garage doors and sells to professional dealers and some of the largest home center retail chains in North America and, under the CornellCookson brand, is a leading U.S. manufacturer and marketer of rolling steel door and grille products designed for commercial, industrial, institutional, and retail use.


•	Defense Electronics segment consists of Telephonics Corporation ("Telephonics"), founded in 1933, a globally recognized leading provider of highly sophisticated intelligence, surveillance and communications solutions for defense, aerospace and commercial customers.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“US GAAP”) for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, these financial statements do not include all the information and footnotes required by US GAAP for complete financial statements. As such, they should be read together with Griffon’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2017, which provides a more complete explanation of Griffon’s accounting policies, financial position, operating results, business properties and other matters. In the opinion of management, these financial statements reflect all adjustments considered necessary for a fair statement of interim results. Griffon’s HBP operations are seasonal; for this and other reasons, the financial results of the Company for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results for the full year.

The condensed consolidated balance sheet information at September 30, 2017 was derived from the audited financial statements included in Griffon’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2017.

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Griffon and all subsidiaries. Intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated on consolidation.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. These estimates may be adjusted due to changes in economic, industry or customer financial conditions, as well as changes in technology or demand. Significant estimates include allowances for doubtful accounts receivable and returns, net realizable value of inventories, restructuring reserves, valuation of goodwill and intangible assets, percentage of completion method of accounting, pension assumptions, useful lives associated with depreciation and amortization of fixed and intangible assets, warranty reserves, sales incentive accruals, stock based compensation assumptions, income taxes and tax valuation reserves, environmental reserves, legal reserves, insurance reserves and the valuation of assets and liabilities of discontinued operations, acquisition assumptions used and the accompanying disclosures. These estimates are based on management’s best knowledge of current events and actions Griffon may undertake in the future. Actual results may ultimately differ from these estimates.

Certain amounts in the prior year have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation.