Pet Products Accepts Higher Offer From Hartz Mountain

Pet Products Inc. said Sunday that it accepted an increased offer by Hartz Mountain Corp. to buy the company in a deal worth about $16 million.

The new offer, for $5.25 per share in cash, is $1 a share above Hartz’s previous offer of $4.25, which was worth about $13 million.

Wilbur Ross, Pet’s financial adviser, said Pet insiders holding about a third of the shares of the maker of pet accessories and supplies had agreed to tender their shares to Hartz, which serves a similar market.

Under a previous tender offer that expired Friday, Hartz received the backing of holders of another 500,000 shares representing 15% of Pet’s outstanding stock. “Those shareholders will get the same high price as everyone else,” Ross said.

Hartz, based in Harrison, N.J., bought a block of Pet shares in December equal to about 19% of the Courtland Manor, N.Y.-based company.

The two companies said Hartz will also offer to buy Pet’s redeemable warrants for 16 cents per warrant in cash.

The revised offer is conditioned on at least two-thirds of Pet common stock being tendered and also on regulatory approval.

Pet’s stock closed Friday at $4.25 in Nasdaq trading.