Helen of Troy Ltd Liquidation Value

Helen of Troy Limited (HELE) presents a severely negative liquidation posture as of February 28, 2026. MFFAIS's CLV of -$1.29B and OLV of -$478M frame the scale of the deficit. Under liquidation haircuts applied to the reported balance sheet: cash of $18.9M recovers at par; AR of $361.3M recovers approximately $339-343M at 90-95%; inventory of $455.8M recovers approximately $274M at 60%; PP&E net book value of $308M recovers approximately $154-216M at 50-70%; intangibles ($372.9M finite-lived net) and goodwill ($472.3M) recover $0 under the lens. Against these haircut assets, liabilities remain at face: total debt of $810.5M ($25M current, $785.8M noncurrent), operating lease liabilities of $59.9M, accounts payable of $256.4M, and accrued liabilities of $199.6M, plus other current liabilities totaling $504.9M current. The arithmetic produces deeply negative equity recovery.

The dominant driver of the balance sheet deterioration is $885.9M in asset impairment charges recorded in fiscal 2026 (goodwill impairment of $706.5M, indefinite-lived intangible impairment of $97M, finite-lived intangible impairment of $82.4M), layered on $51.5M of impairments in fiscal 2025. These charges confirm that carrying values of intangible assets—already zero under the liquidation lens—were materially overstated relative to fair value on a going-concern basis as well. Total accumulated goodwill impairment now stands at $745.2M against gross goodwill of $1.22B, leaving $472.3M of goodwill still on the balance sheet that contributes zero liquidation value.

Debt load is the primary liability-side constraint. Total gross credit facility debt is approximately $810.5M under a facility maturing February 2029, with a November 2025 amendment that reduced revolver commitments from $1.0B to $750M and tightened leverage covenant stepdowns. The leverage ratio maximum was 4.50:1 at fiscal year-end, stepping down to 3.50:1 by August 2027. The company was in compliance at period end, but covenant headroom is thin given impairment-driven EBITDA pressure.

The deferred tax asset valuation allowance increased $107.9M in fiscal 2026 to $129.2M, reflecting the determination that Switzerland-domiciled deferred tax assets from the fiscal 2025 intangible reorganization are not realizable—itself a signal of deteriorating earnings quality. Net deferred tax asset position collapsed from $38.4M to $1.5M. Assets held for sale of $23.1M appear on the balance sheet but are not separately broken out in TAG_CONTEXT detail. The filing discusses the Home & Outdoor segment divestiture process in MD&A but does not separately tag the asset group's composition in XBRL beyond the noncurrent disposal group line.