Rayovac Corporation
Ticker:ROV 601 Rayovac Drive
Exchange:New York Stock Exchange Madison, WI 53711
Industry:Manufacturing (SIC Code 3692) (608) 275-3340
# of Employees:2181

Offering Information
Type of Shares:Common Shares Filing Date:9/9/97
U.S. Shares:5,360,000 Offer Date:11/20/97
Non-U.S. Shares:1,340,000 Filing Range:$13.00 - $15.00
Primary Shares:6,700,000 Offer Price:$14.00
Secondary Shares:0 Gross Spread:$0.98
Offering Amount: $93,800,000 Selling:$0.58
Expenses: - Reallowance:$0.10
Shares Out After: -

Primary Underwriting Group
ManagerTierPhone
Merrill Lynch & Co.Lead Manager (212) 449-4600
Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.Co-manager (212) 272-4850
Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp.Co-manager (212) 371-0641
Smith Barney Inc.Co-manager (212) 723-7300

Legal Counsel, Auditor and Registrar
Issuer's Law Firm: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Bank's Law Firm: Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
Auditor: Coopers & Lybrand

Selected Financial Data

Dollar amounts in U.S. millions except for per share data
9 Month Ending Financials
Full Year
Audited
Income
Latest
Unaudited
Income
Prior
Unaudited
Income
Balance
Sheet
6/30/96 6/30/97 6/30/96 6/30/97
Revenue:$423.40$321.00$316.00Assets:$218.00
Net Income:$14.30$3.30$10.70Curr Assets:
EPS:$0.29Liabilities:$299.20
Prior EPS:$0.33$32.60$28.20Curr Liabilities:
Cash Flow/Oper:$17.84Equity:-$81.20
Cash Flow/Fin:-$11.95Cash:
Cash Flow/Inv:-$6.35Working Cap:$50.50

Business Description
The company is a leading value brand and the third largest domestic manufacturer of general batteries and is the leading worldwide manufacturer of hearing aid batteries. The company is also the leading worldwide manufacturer of rechargeable household batteries, including lantern batteries and lithium batteries for personal computer clocks and memory backup. In addition, the company is a leading marketer of battery powered lighting products. Originally introduced in 1921, the Rayovac brand is a well recognized name in the battery industry. The company attributes the longevity and strength of its brand name to its high-quality products and to the success of its marketing and merchandising initiatives. The company has established its position as the leading value brand in the U.S. general alkaline battery market by focusing on the mass merchandiser channel. The company achieved this position by 1) offering batteries with quality and performance substantially equivalent to batteries offered by its principal competitors at a lower price, 2) emphasizing innovative in-store merchandising programs, and 3) offering retailers attractive margins.

Competition
The industries in which the Company participates are very competitive. Competition is based upon brand name recognition, perceived quality, price, performance, product packaging and product innovation, as well as creative marketing, promotion and distribution strategies. In the U.S. battery industry, the Company competes primarily with two well established companies, Duracell International Inc. ("Duracell"), a subsidiary of The Gillette Company, and Eveready Battery Company, Inc., a subsidiary of Ralston Purina Company and producer of Energizer brand batteries ("Energizer"), each of which has substantially greater financial and other resources and greater overall market share than the Company. In addition, the Company believes that Duracell and Energizer may have lower costs of production and higher profit margins in certain product lines than the Company. The Company competes with these competitors for the limited shelf space that retailers allot to battery products and for the promotional efforts of such retailers. Although foreign battery manufacturers historically have not been successful in penetrating the U.S. retail market to any significant extent, they have, from time to time, attempted to establish a significant presence in the U.S. battery market. There can be no assurance that these attempts will not be successful in the future or that the Company will be able to compete effectively with current or prospective participants in the U.S. battery industry. In addition, the battery-powered lighting device industry is highly competitive and includes a greater number of competitors than the U.S. battery industry, some of which have greater financial and other resources than the Company.

Business Plan
In September 1996, pursuant to the Recapitalization, affiliates of the Thomas H. Lee Company acquired beneficial ownership of approximately 79% of the outstanding Common Stock of Rayovac. David A. Jones was hired as Chief Executive Officer of the company to implement a new business strategy focused on 1) reinvigorating the Rayovac brand name by raising consumer brand awareness through, among other things, focused marketing and advertising, 2) growing Rayovac's market share by expanding distribution into new channels and customers, launching new products, and selectivity pursuing acquisitions and alliances, 3) reducing costs by rationalizing manufacturing and distribution, better utilizing existing plant capacity, outsourcing products where appropriate, reducing working capital, and downsizing corporate overhead, and 4) improving employee productivity by reorganizing workflow to support the business units, implementing modern information systems, increasing training and education, and implementing a pay-for-performance culture.

Use of Proceeds
The proceeds from the proposed offering will be used to repay indebtedness incurred in connection with the recapitalization of the company completed in September 1996.

Principal and Selling Shareholders
Name of Shareholder% Owned
Before
% Owned
After
Thomas H. Lee Equity Fund III, L.P.73.70%
THL-CCI Limited Partnership7.40%
Note: Represents ownership of 5% or more prior to the offering.
Executive Officers and Directors
Officer NameTitleAge
David A. JonesChairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President47
Kent J. HusseyExecutive Vice President of Finance and Administration, Chief Financial Officer and Director51
Trygve LonnebotnExecutive Vice President of Operations and Director59
Roger F. WarrenPresident/International and Contract Micropower and Director56
Kenneth V. BillerSenior Vice President and General Manager of Lighting Products and Industrial49
Stephen P. ShanseySenior Vice President of Marketing and General Manger of General Batteries41
Merrell M. TomlinSenior Vice President of Sales44
James A. BroderickVice President, General Counsel and Secretary53

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