Energizer Buys Playtex Products

ST. LOUIS — Energizer Holdings, which diversified from the battery market by buying razor-maker Schick-Wilkinson Sword in 2003, will now acquire Playtex Products, the companies said last week. Playtex, Westport, Conn., is a manufacturer in the skin, feminine and infant care industries, with a portfolio that includes sun care products like Banana Boat and Hawaiian Tropics. Energizer will acquire Playtex for $18.30 per share in cash plus the assumption of Playtex debt. Total enterprise value of the transaction is approximately $1.9 billion. “For our employees, it means becoming a part of a much larger consumer products business with the scale and resources to thrive in an increasingly competitive environment," said Neil DeFeo, chairman and chief executive officer of Playtex. “Energizer will emerge with a more diversified portfolio of products, and greater scale in the personal care category, which will now be more evenly balanced with our household goods business. It will also provide a platform for possible additional value-adding acquisitions," said Ward M. Klein, chief executive officer of Energizer.

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