Carlyle spends £2.5bn on health supplements firm
PRIVATE equity giant Carlyle made the latest in a string of high value acquisitions yesterday by purchasing US nutritional supplements maker NBTY for $3.8bn (£2.5bn).
Carlyle’s $55 per share cash offer represents a 47 per cent premium to NBTY’s closing price on Wednesday, and is one of the biggest private equity deals of the year.
NBTY said the deal should close by the end of this year. The firm has a market value of $2.3bn and posted a quarterly profit in April that missed expectations by a wide margin.
The firm announced the deal a day after reports of the company being courted by both Carlyle and rival private equity firm Blackstone.
The company is known for supplements such as Nature’s Bounty, Osteo Bi Flex, Ester C and Pure Protein. Its board unanimously accepted the deal.
BofA Merrill Lynch and Centerview Partners are acting as financial advisers to NBTY, while Barclays Capital and Credit Suisse will offer financial advice to Carlyle.
Carlyle’s managing director and head of consumer and retail Sandra Horbach said: “NBTY is an outstanding business with well-established brands, a proven vertically integrated multi-channel/multi-geography strategy and strong, long-standing customer relationships.”
The deal is another sign of renewed activity at Carlyle, which made its first property deal in two years earlier this month.