Empower Brands Proposes $1.6 Billion Cash Takeover of Helen of Troy

The Tip Desk · November 8, 2026 · 2 min read

The consumer-products consortium said the all-cash bid would create a $2.9 billion-revenue platform, a framing Helen of Troy’s board rejected as undervaluing the company.

Empower Brands Holdings Group, LLC, a vehicle owned by Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (SPB) and Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., proposed to buy Helen of Troy Limited (HELE) for $37.00 a share in cash, an implied enterprise value of approximately $1.6 billion.

The offer represented a 31% premium to the volume-weighted average price of Helen of Troy’s shares for the last 30 trading days ending October 30, 2026. Closing remained contingent on a definitive agreement and customary conditions, including shareholder and regulatory approvals.

David Maura, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Spectrum Brands and Chairman of Empower Brands, said the all-cash proposal offered Helen of Troy’s shareholders “compelling and certain value at an attractive premium.” He said that as Helen of Troy is currently comprised, it does not have the scale or the financial ability to acquire or achieve the scale to compete in a landscape that the group knows well.

The proposed combination, the acquirer said, would create a leading consumer products platform with approximately $2.9 billion in annual revenue, complementary brands and enhanced scale.

Helen of Troy’s board unanimously rejected the unsolicited, non-binding proposal the same day, November 4, 2026, and said it substantially undervalues the company. The board said continuing to execute Helen of Troy’s strategy will create greater long-term value than pursuing the offer.

The company said the proposal was timed to exploit a dislocation in its stock price since Liberation Day, created in part by tariff-related business disruption, while it was implementing a three-phase roadmap unveiled in April 2026 under Chief Executive Officer G. Scott Uzzell. Helen of Troy said it offered a customary non-disclosure agreement; Empower Brands refused.

Helen of Troy said it achieved strong second-quarter fiscal 2027 results, raised guidance, and is reinvesting $66.5 million to $70.5 million of tariff refunds into the business. It lowered total debt by approximately $244 million over 18 months to $673 million at the end of the second quarter and expects to reduce total debt by an additional $92 million by the end of fiscal 2027, as implied at the midpoint of its free cash flow outlook.

Over a five-year outlook, the company said it expects low-to-mid single-digit net sales growth, high-single-digit Adjusted EBITDA growth, mid-to-high-teens Adjusted EPS growth, and approximately 75% free cash flow conversion by year five, with annual free cash flow per share approaching approximately $10 by the end of the plan.

The board said it remains open to opportunities in the best interest of Helen of Troy and its shareholders. BofA Securities is acting as financial advisor and Baker McKenzie LLP as legal advisor.