Empower Brands has proposed buying Helen of Troy, an El Paso-based consumer-products company, in an all-cash deal with an enterprise value of about $1.6 billion. Empower Brands is jointly owned by Spectrum Brands Holdings and funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management. It said its latest bid, submitted Oct. 12, values Helen of Troy at $37 a share. An earlier proposal in August was for $34 a share.
Empower Brands said it has tried several times to talk privately with Helen of Troy's board, but the company has not engaged substantively. David Maura, chief executive of Spectrum Brands and chairman of Empower Brands, said Helen of Troy had required an overly restrictive agreement that would limit Empower's ability to communicate its offer to Helen of Troy shareholders. Helen of Troy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Empower Brands said the deal would give the combined company greater scale and financial ability to compete in consumer products. Empower's portfolio includes Remington and Black+Decker. Helen of Troy's brands include Hydro Flask, Revlon, Bed Head and Vicks.