(Adds details on the two deals, background)

Nov 7 (Reuters) - Newell Brands Inc is selling its Pure Fishing and Jostens businesses for combined $2.5 billion, it said on Wednesday, the latest in a series of asset sales aimed at increasing its focus on more profitable consumer products.

The sale of Pure Fishing to Sycamore Partners and Jostens to Platinum Equity comes after Newell agreed earlier this year to sell cookware maker Waddington Group to Carlyle Group in a roughly $2.3 billion deal.

Newell, the maker of Rubbermaid and Crock-Pot slow cookers, has been unloading some of its businesses after more than doubling in size following its acquisition of Jarden Corp in 2016.

Jostens is a U.S. manufacturer of memorabilia such as class rings and yearbooks, while Pure Fishing provides tackle, lures, rods and reels for fishing.

As part of a turnaround plan announced in May, Newell had said it would sell these businesses.

The Yankee Candles maker also ended a proxy fight with activist hedge fund Starboard Value LP in April, with activist investors Starboard and Carl Icahn placing their nominees on the company's board.

As part of its agreement with Icahn, Newell said in March its divestitures would bring in about $10 billion, ratcheting it up from its previous estimate of $6 billion.

Newell said on Wednesday that the gross proceeds from the divestitures to the two private investment firms are expected to be about $1.3 billion each and that both transactions are expected to close in the fourth quarter.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC was the financial adviser to Newell on the Pure Fishing transaction, while Jefferies LLC was the adviser on the Jostens deal.

Shares of the company were up about 4 percent in premarket trading on Wednesday. (Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)