EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.–Facing challenging business conditions and a tough economy, Lenox Group Inc. last night announced plans to explore strategic alternatives, which commonly means putting itself up for sale.
The company’s board of directors also adopted a stockholder rights plan to reduce the likelihood that a potential acquirer would gain control of the company by “open market accumulation or other coercive takeover tactics without paying a premium for the company’s shares,” according to a statement from the company.
Interim Chief Executive Officer Marc Pfefferle said in a statement that he did not believe the company’s current stock price reflects the value of the brands, which include Lenox, Dansk and Gorham. The company has been approached by potential buyers interested in “recapitalizing, combining with or acquiring Lenox or parts of Lenox.”
Pfefferle estimated that a strategic review process will take approximately six months, but “timing was flexible.”