Houlihan Lokey Advises The Vitamin Shoppe

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce the sale of the assets of Nutri-Force Nutrition (Nutri-Force), a subsidiary of The Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. (NYSE:VSI), to Arizona Nutritional Supplements, LLC (ANS), a portfolio company of Endeavour Capital (Endeavour). The transaction closed on May 7, 2018.

Headquartered in Miami Lakes, Florida, Nutri-Force provides custom manufacturing, private label, and re-packaging services within its 215,000-square-foot, cGMP-certified facility. The company has been a successful leader in the production of private label nutritional supplements and vitamins as well as developing and marketing its own line of sports nutrition products under the Betancourt brand. The company has expertise in the production of soft gels, tablets, powders, and capsules. Nutri-Force also works closely with its customers in developing and manufacturing new products.

The Vitamin Shoppe is an omni-channel specialty retailer of nutritional products based in Secaucus, New Jersey. In its stores and on its website, the company carries a comprehensive retail assortment including vitamins, minerals, specialty supplements, herbs, sports nutrition, homeopathic remedies, green living products, and natural beauty aids. In addition to offering products from approximately 1,000 national brands, The Vitamin Shoppe also carries products under The Vitamin Shoppe®, BodyTech®, True Athlete®, MyTrition®, plnt®, ProBioCare®, and Next Step® brands. The Vitamin Shoppe conducts business through more than 775 company-operated retail stores under The Vitamin Shoppe and Super Supplements retail banners and through its website.

ANS is a full-service, cGMP-certified, private label and contract manufacturer of nutritional and dietary supplements. Founded on the values of integrity, quality, and service, ANS has been a leader in transparency and compliance within the supplements industry since its founding in 1996. ANS formulates and produces powders, tablets, and capsules and offers a wide array of packaging solutions across multiple discrete production facilities. ANS also provides innovation and R&D of new products and existing formulations in its state-of-the-art laboratory facilities in Arizona as well as full in-house QA services for microbial and analytical testing. The company is certified and licensed to produce products for NSF & NSF Sport, QAI Organic, Non-GMO, Gluten Free, Kosher, Halal, Health Canada, and IFOS, among others.

Endeavour was founded in 1991 to be a resident source of capital and long-term partner to leading Western-based businesses. Today, Endeavour is investing its seventh fund, with $775 million in committed capital, and has offices in Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Denver. The firm has completed over 60 platform investments to date and dozens of add-on acquisitions.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to The Vitamin Shoppe and assisted in structuring and negotiating the transaction on its behalf. In addition, Houlihan Lokey rendered a fairness opinion on behalf of The Vitamin Shoppe’s board of directors.