Baring It All for Investors?

U.S. Alcohol Testing of America Inc. may be redefining the term “road show.”

The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based maker of alcohol-testing equipment sent a notice to brokers inviting them to attend a due diligence meeting for potential investors next week at Scores, a popular New York topless club.

The notice encouraged brokers to “join us at this meeting to learn more about the enormous potential for U.S. Alcohol.”

The location of the meeting drew the ire of Muriel Siebert, head of Muriel Siebert & Co., who has fought barriers to women on Wall Street for years.

“It’s just a blatant, poor-taste, sexist deal, and I don’t know why anybody would have the faith to buy the stock,” Siebert said. “I wouldn’t expect that of a company that wants to get a decent following.”

Lyle Pfeffer, president of Halo Investment Associates Inc., a New York firm that holds U.S. Alcohol shares and is sponsoring the meeting, said such concerns were unfounded. The club will close during the meeting and open as soon as it’s over, he said.

“There’s not going to be naked women walking around during the meeting,” he said. “It’s a serious meeting. And after the meeting, anyone who wants to stay is welcome to.” He said the location was chosen because it’s convenient and is well-known to brokers.

“It’s not like it’s some crusty little club on 42nd Street,” he said. “It’s one of the top clubs in the country.”

“It doesn’t matter if the club’s open or not,” Siebert said. “They could have held it at any hotel. They should cancel it and hold it in a place with more dignity.”

Calls to U.S. Alcohol’s headquarters weren’t returned.

The meeting is designed to tell analysts about the company’s latest developments, including the sale of its money-losing recycling and toy-making units earlier this year, Pfeffer said.

Typically, due diligence meetings are held for companies that are preparing a stock sale. However, Pfeffer said U.S. Alcohol isn’t trying to raise cash. Instead, the company merely wants to tell its story to brokers.

Securities analyst Ray Dirks, who follows the company, also will make a presentation, Pfeffer said. Dirks predicts the company will earn 13 cents a share in 1997, compared with a loss of 25 cents this year. By 1998, its profit will rise to 65 cents, Pfeffer said.

Last month, U.S. Alcohol said it raised $3.75 million through the private placement of 40 units. Each unit was composed of 50,000 shares of U.S. Alcohol’s common stock and a four-year warrant to purchase 50,000 shares at $2 a share.

U.S. Alcohol’s common stock closed unchanged at $3.25 on the American Stock Exchange.