Later that year the company launched an unsolicited takeover bid for Crouse-Hinds Company, which wound up being acquired by Cooper Industries the following year. The company continued to pursue expansion opportunities, and in 1985 reached a deal, seen by some as overpriced, to acquire the smaller competitor Houston Natural Gas.
This proved a "wag-the-dog" transaction... the company soon was headquartered in Houston and run by HNG's CEO, who renamed the company Enron Corporation.