Houlihan Lokey Advises Dikey Vitamin Group

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Dikey Vitamin Group, a Turkey-based D2C VMHS and active nutrition business, has sold a minority stake and entered into a strategic partnership with Nestlé Health Science. The transaction signed on 21 July 2021 and closed on 30 July. The financial terms of the deal are undisclosed.

Founded in 2012, Dikey Vitamin Group is Turkey’s leading and fastest-growing D2C VMHS and active nutrition player. Focused on health and wellness, the company manufactures and distributes owned, controlled, and third-party brands. Dikey Vitamin Group has a unique omnichannel presence underpinned by an e-commerce platform comprising three websites (Vitaminler.com, Supplementler.com, Fitmoda.com), an established network of stores and vending machines across Turkey, and an integrated content platform. The company’s in-house manufacturing and NPD capabilities have enabled Dikey Vitamin Group to develop an innovative range of own brands and products to drive future growth.

Nestlé Health Science, a leader in the science of nutrition, is a globally managed business unit of Nestlé. It is committed to redefining the management of health, offering an extensive portfolio of science-based consumer health, medical nutrition, pharmaceutical therapies, and vitamin and supplement brands. Nestlé Health Science believes in empowering healthier lives through nutrition. Its extensive research network, both within Nestlé’s R&D centers as well as with external partners, provides the foundation for products that can help people live their healthiest lives. Headquartered in Switzerland, Nestlé Health Science has more than 7,000 employees around the world, with products available in more than 160 countries.

“Houlihan Lokey has been the best corporate finance advisor in our journey to find the right partner that can support us to further accelerate the growth of the business and bring it to the next level. The team’s D2C and VMHS/nutrition industry knowledge, vast experience working with fast-growing, founder-owned companies like us, and superb negotiation skills exceeded all our expectations. Houlihan Lokey genuinely understood our differentiated business model and supported us to effectively emphasize our key strengths to achieve an outstanding outcome.” said Comert Tavaslioglu, co-founder and Managing Director.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Dikey Vitamin Group’s shareholders, assisting in structuring and negotiating the transaction on its behalf.

This transaction underscores Houlihan Lokey’s deep expertise in D2C businesses and the VMHS/nutrition sectors, following the recent sales of Nuun to Nestlé Health Science; foodspring to Mars; SmartyPants Vitamins to Unilever; Scitec to BioTech USA; Care/of to Bayer; Zarbee’s to Johnson & Johnson; and Grenade to Lion Capital. The transaction also strengthens the firm’s track record of working with the most innovative and disruptive players in the health and wellness industry.