Under the terms of the agreement, Alberto-Culver Co. shareholders, in addition to retaining their current Alberto-Culver shareholdings, will receive 0.6 shares of Regis Corp. in respect of each share of Alberto-Culver Company they own. At closing, Regis Corp. will have approximately 102 million diluted shares outstanding and Alberto-Culver shareholders will own approximately 54.5% of the shares in the combined company. Upon closing, Regis intends to raise its annual dividend 125 percent to 36 cents per share. As part of the transaction, Regis Corp. will also assume $400 million in debt.

Following completion of the merger, Howard B. Bernick, Alberto-Culver president and CEO, will join Regis' board of directors as its non-executive chairman. Paul D. Finkelstein, chairman and chief executive officer of Regis, will continue in his position, and Gary Winterhalter will continue as president of Sally Beauty Co.

The transaction is expected to be completed in late spring or early summer of 2006. At the close of the transaction, Alberto-Culver will be a much smaller company, generating $1.4 billion in annual sales. Exes say the transaction will allow Alberto-Culver to focus on its consumer products including Alberto VO5, St. Ives, TRESemme and Nexxus, but industry insiders speculate the company may be preparing for a buyout.