Despite efforts to force through the sale of its global pets supply business, Spectrum Brands said Monday it has scrapped that plan — one originally billed as pivotal to its turnaround.

The Atlanta company, which has total debt of $2.64 billion, said it has enough liquidity — $72.7 million — and cash flow from sales of its arsenal of consumer products to run its operations.

Among its stable of brands are Rayovac batteries, Remington shavers and Tetra fish and reptile supplies.

The company sought to convince its senior lenders the deal was the best strategy for the company, but those lenders, whose approval was needed to cement the sale, said no.

"We will therefore continue to operate the global pet supply business and work to capture the strong market potential we see there," Kent Hussey, Spectrum Brands' chief executive, said in a statement. "Our board and management team remain committed to finding and executing appropriate alternatives for reducing the indebtedness of the company."

It's unclear what alternatives the company is pursuing or what options it has left. A Spectrum Brands spokeswoman said Hussey would not comment beyond the official statement.

But it's evident that investors — who sent shares down to a 52-week low of $1.87 Monday before they rebounded to close at $2.10 — want something done. Shares have already fallen more than 63 percent in the last 12 months.

Had the deal gone through, Salton Inc. and its subsidiary, Applica Pet Products LLC, would have acquired Spectrum Brands' pets supply business for $692.5 million in cash. Salton also would have assumed $222.5 million in debt.

Proceeds from the sale would have been put toward paying debt, Spectrum Brands said.

The bulk of that debt came through two major acquisitions — United Industrial Corp. for $1.49 billion in mostly cash and stock in 2005 and the $550 million Tetra purchase that same year.

Only three years ago, Spectrum Brands had a market value of $1.19 billion. But that has since plunged more than 90 percent to its current $103.4 million.

Still, one Wall Street analyst says the company has some time to recover.

"It sounds like they have a lot of liquidity to operate even though they have a lot of debt," said Joseph Altobello, who follows Spectrum Brands for Oppenheimer & Co.

"Kent and his team recognize the situation that they're in and if they continue with the status quo, it will take a great deal of time to right the ship. They need to look to jettison assets that are not core to the long-term business."

Spectrum Brands signaled the deal was in danger last month when senior lenders refused to give their OK. Still, the company said it would press its case to lenders because officials believed the sale was in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.

There are arguments for both sides, Altobello said. On the one hand, the pets business is the most attractive of Spectrum Brands' units and arguably would fetch the highest price.

"But the retort to that would be 'you're selling your best business and you're only delivering half a ton,'" he said. "What have you gained?"

Management recognizes the urgency of doing something to get Spectrum Brands back on track, he said, but "for now there's no deadline here that these guys have to sell something by," Altobello said.

In the most recent quarter, the company posted a loss of $111.7 million, or $2.19 per share. That's an improvement over the year-earlier quarter, where it lost $237.5 million, or $4.77 per share.

As part of the termination, Spectrum Brands must pay Salton $3 million within two business days to reimburse its expenses.