Specialty Catalog Corp. is considering a proposal by a shareholder to purchase the South Easton, MA, company.
The cataloger's board has formed an independent committee to determine whether to accept the offer by Guy Naggar, a British investor who owns 29 percent of company shares.
Naggar wants to purchase the company's remaining common stock for $3.75 a share. The proposal represents a 43 percent premium to the $2.63 closing share price on April 24, which was the day before Naggar's filing, and a 23 percent premium to Friday's closing price of $3.05.
A condition of the offer is that Specialty Catalog would merge with another company Naggar plans to form. Naggar would not offer details on the company he is planning but said Specialty Catalog's operations would not change.
A decision on whether to accept Naggar's proposal is expected by Friday, said Thomas McCain, the cataloger's senior vice president and chief financial officer.
Specialty Catalog Corp. is a retailer of women's wigs and hairpieces through its Paula Young catalog and Web site. The company also offers wigs for African-American women, hairpieces, apparel and related products through its Especially Yours catalog and Web site.
A subsidiary, Daxbourne International Ltd., is a retailer and wholesaler of women's wigs and hairpieces in the United Kingdom.
