WASHINGTON – Clorox Co. has received antitrust clearance to acquire personal-care product company Burt’s Bees for $925 million, U.S. regulators said Wednesday.
Burt’s Bees, which was founded in Maine and is now based in Morrisville, N.C., makes lip balm and beauty products that contain at least 95 percent natural ingredients.
Clorox will fund the all-cash deal through a combination of cash and short-term borrowings.
The Federal Trade Commission said it granted early termination of the waiting period required under the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust law.
The 1976 law requires under certain circumstances that prospective acquirers of voting securities or assets apply for clearance from regulators. Requests for early termination or clearance are granted when the FTC and the Justice Department’s antitrust division have decided against taking action during the waiting period.
Former back-to-the-lander Roxanne Quimby and beekeeper Burt Shavitz founded Burt’s Bees in the 1980s, selling honey, beeswax candles and polish. The company’s growth ballooned after Quimby bought out Shavitz’ share of the business, shifted its emphasis to natural cosmetics and moved the company to North Carolina.
In 2003 she sold 80 percent of Burt’s Bees to New York-based buyout firm AEA Investors for $177 million. She used part of the profits to buy land in northern Maine that she hopes will eventually become part of a national park.
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