Helen of Troy Limited Announces Acquisition of Pert Plus(R) & Sure(R) Brands From Innovative Brands, LLC

EL PASO, Texas, March 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Helen of Troy Limited (Nasdaq: HELE), designer, developer and worldwide marketer of brand-name personal care and household consumer products, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Phoenix-based Innovative Brands, LLC, a portfolio company of Najafi Companies, to acquire the Pert Plus® hair care and Sure® anti-perspirant and deodorant businesses from Innovative Brands.

Pert Plus® enjoys a long history as a leading brand in the $2 billion US shampoo category through its pioneering development of the 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner combination technology.  Sure® is one of the leading brands in the $1.7 billion U.S. anti-perspirant and deodorant category, well known for its product efficacy and value to both women and men.  The completion of the transaction is subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino review and customary closing conditions. The acquisition is expected to close at the end of March 2010.

Gerald J. Rubin, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, commenting on the acquisition stated, "We are very pleased to acquire the Pert Plus® and Sure® brands from Innovative Brands.  We have a growing position in hair care styling and personal grooming with our innovative appliance and accessory businesses and adding Pert Plus® and Sure® will enhance our role as a comprehensive provider of solutions for our hair care and personal grooming consumers and styling professionals.

"We expect to quickly integrate Pert Plus® and Sure® into our Idelle Labs division, which markets and manages our hair and skin care products. We estimate that the Pert Plus® and Sure® brands will generate approximately $65 million in annual sales for our Idelle Labs division. We also expect the acquisition to be accretive upon integration into our Idelle Labs division.  Our Idelle Labs division sells branded consumer  products including Infusium 23®, Ogilvie®, Brut®, Vitalis®, Final Net®, Vitapointe®, Condition 3-in 1®, Sea Breeze® and Ammens® through professional, mass merchant, drug store and grocery distribution channels. We are excited to be adding these two quality brand names to our existing worldwide distribution, and believe they will provide ongoing value to our customers and shareholders alike. Our most recent acquisition of Infusium 23® from Procter & Gamble was completed in March 2009. We continue to pursue similar acquisitions that can be integrated into Helen of Troy and provide accretive earnings to our shareholders," Rubin concluded.

Helen of Troy Limited is a leading designer, producer and global marketer of brand-name personal care and household consumer products. The Company's personal care products include hair dryers, curling irons, hair setters, women's shavers, brushes, combs, hair accessories, home hair clippers, mirrors, foot baths, body massagers, paraffin baths, liquid hair styling products, body powder and skin care products. The Company's household products include kitchen tools, cutlery, bar and wine accessories, household cleaning tools, tea kettles, trash cans, storage and organization products, gardening tools, kitchen mitts and trivets, barbeque tools, and rechargeable lighting products. The Company's products are sold  to consumers by mass merchandisers, drug chains, warehouse clubs and grocery stores under licensed trademarks including Vidal Sassoon®, licensed from The Procter & Gamble Company, Revlon®, licensed from Revlon Consumer Products Corporation, Dr. Scholl's®, licensed from Schering-Plough HealthCare Products, Inc., Sunbeam®, Health at Home® and Health o meter® licensed from Sunbeam Products, Inc., Sea Breeze®, licensed from Shiseido Company Ltd., Vitapointe®, licensed from Sara Lee Household and Body Care UK Limited, Toni & Guy® outside of the Americas, licensed from Mascolo Limited, Bed Head® and  TIGI® in the Americas licensed from MBL/TIGI Products, LP, and Toni&Guy® in the Americas licensed from MBL/TONI&GUY Products, LP. Helen of Troy's owned brands include OXO®, Good Grips®, Candela®, Infusium 23®, Brut®, Vitalis®, Final Net®, Ammens®, Condition® 3-in-1, SkinMilk®, Dazey®, Caruso®, Karina®, DCNL®, Nandi®,  Isobel® and Ogilvie®. The Company markets hair and beauty care products under the Helen of Troy®, Hot Tools®, Hot Spa®, Salon Edition®, Gallery Series®, Wigo®, Fusion Tools®, Belson®, Belson Pro®, Gold 'N Hot®, Curlmaster®, Profiles®, Comare®, Mega Hot®, and Shear Technology® owned brands to the professional beauty salon industry.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to change. The forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any or all of the forward-looking statements may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Many of these factors will be important in determining the Company's actual future results. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Actual future results may vary materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by a number of risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical or anticipated results. Generally, the words "anticipates", "estimates", "believes", "expects", plans", "may", "will", "should", "seeks", "project", "predict", "potential", "continue", "intends" and other similar words identify forward-looking statements. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company intends its forward-looking statements to speak only as of the time of such statements, and does not undertake to update or revise them as more information becomes available. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release should be read in conjunction with, and are subject to and qualified by, the risks described in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended February 28, 2009 and in our other filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to refer to the risk factors referred to above for a description of these risks. Such risks include, among others, the departure and recruitment of key personnel, difficulties encountered assimilating the operations, products, personnel and distribution channels associated with the acquisitions, including the Pert Plus® hair care and Sure® anti-perspirant and deodorant businesses, the Company's projections of sales and earnings are highly subjective and our future sales and earnings could vary in a material amount from our projections, the Company's ability to deliver products to our customers in a timely manner, requirements to accurately project product demand and orders of customers, the Company's relationship with key customers and licensors, the costs of complying with the business demands and requirements of large sophisticated customers, the Company's dependence on foreign sources of supply and foreign manufacturing, impact of changing costs of raw materials, energy and operations, the inability to liquidate auction rate securities, circumstances which may contribute to future impairment of goodwill, intangible or other long-lived assets, the Company's ability to develop and introduce innovative new products to meet changing consumer preferences, disruptions in U.S. and international credit markets, exchange rate risks, expectations regarding acquisitions and the integration of acquired businesses, the Company's use of debt and the constraints it may impose, the risks associated with tax audits, and disputes with taxing authorities, potential changes in laws, including tax laws, the Company's ability to continue to avoid classification as a controlled foreign corporation, the Company's dependence on the strength of retail economies, the impact of a prolonged recession, and the highly subjective nature of projections of sales and earnings and the fact that future sales and earnings could vary in a material amount from the Company's projections.

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SOURCE Helen of Troy Limited