HELENE CURTIS HITS A HIGH ON THE NYSE
NEW YORK — Shares of Helene Curtis Industries Inc. surged 19.4 percent Wednesday, climbing 6 5/8 to a 52-week high of 40 3/4 on the New York Stock exchange. Shamrock Holdings Inc., which holds about 515,000 shares, or 7.6 percent of the Chicago firm, said that it has asked the Helene Curtis board to seek a buyer for the company.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Shamrock said that its president, Stanley P. Gold, had sent a letter to Helene Curtis president and chief executive officer Ronald Gidwitz and to other board members, asserting that the intrinsic value of Helene Curtis’s assets is not being recognized. According to Shamrock, there would be several interested parties, including larger personal care product companies.
The Gidwitz family, which owns a 30 percent stake in Helene Curtis, controls the company through its ownership of 99 percent of the company’s class B common stock, Shamrock said. — Fairchild News Service