Wynn’s Halts Sale Talks, Cites Economic Outlook

Wynn’s International, a Fullerton-based maker of automotive supplies and accessories, said Friday that the October stock market collapse and the general economic outlook has prompted it to call off discussions of a possible sale of the company.

Wynn’s said it has received more than a dozen purchase offers in the last few months. Most of the offers involved some form of leveraged buyout, in which the company’s cash flow would be used to pay off the debt assumed to buy the company from its shareholders.

Wynn’s Chairman Wesley E. Bellwood said the significant amount of time spent by company executives to prepare and distribute financial information to prospective buyers contributed to the decision to halt talks.

A special company committee had been working with Goldman, Sachs & Co., a New York investment banking firm, to furnish information and to consult with parties interested in making firm offers to acquire Wynn’s.

“We really never got much of a reaction (from potential buyers),” Bellwood said.

The time expended and the uncertain future were affecting many employees, he said: “We can’t allow this stuff to go on forever. We’re going to concentrate our efforts on running the business.”

In October, Security Pacific Corp.’s venture-capital unit withdrew an acquisition proposal arranged by James Carroll, the head of one of Wynn’s subsidiaries. Before that, Bellwood said, a buyout plan proposed by a management team led by Wynn’s President John F. Lillicrop fell through.

Wynn’s stock closed Friday on the New York Stock Exchange at $16.875 a share, down $2.875 a share from the previous day’s closing price. In the last year, it has reached a per-share high of $30.375 and a low of $14.50.