History
Originally, Rayovac Corporation primarily manufactured Rayovac batteries. In 2003, Rayovac decided to diversify. In January 2005, Rayovac purchased United Industries Corporation for about $476 million in cash and stock. Brands included in United Industries were Vigoro, Spectracide and Sta-Green lawn products, Cutters, Hot Shot and Repel insect control products and pet supply products with the Marineland, Perfecto and Eight in One brands. In 2005, Tetra, a major provider of pet-fish products, was acquired. This led to a name change to Spectrum Brands.
Heavily leveraged in debt, Spectrum attempted to sell its pet division (United Pet Group) containing aquarium products and supplies under the Tetra, Marineland, Instant Ocean and Jungle brand names, and pet care products under the Dingo, Firstrax, 8 in 1 and Nature's Miracles brand names. Appliance maker Salton, owned by hedge fund Harbinger Capital, agreed to pay approximately $692 million cash to purchase the pet care division, but the deal collapsed on July 14, 2008. According to Forbes and The Wall Street Journal, the sale was rejected by Spectrum's own key lenders, most likely because the deal valued the brands for less than what the bankers considered them to be worth.
On February 3, 2009, Spectrum filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company later emerged from bankruptcy on August 28, 2009. Since emerging from Chapter 11, Spectrum has announced year-over-year increases in sales and adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of their fiscal 2010.
Read more about this topic: Spectrum Brands
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