Los Angeles, CA—Kingswood Capital Management and Performance Investment Partners have entered into a definitive agreement under which an affiliate will acquire The Vitamin Shoppe. The acquisition of the multichannel specialty retail and wellness lifestyle company will include all of its owned proprietary brands includingThe Vitamin Shoppe, Vthrive The Vitamin Shoppe, BodyTech, BodyTech Elite, plnt, ProBioCare, and True Athlete. The transaction is expected to be completed later in the second quarter of the year, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
"We are excited to partner with The Vitamin Shoppe team and help them build upon the success the business has enjoyed over the last forty-eight years," said Kingswood Partner, Michael Niegsch, and PIP Partner, Mark Genender. "We plan to make significant investments in the company’s third-party brand relationships, research and development across The Vitamin Shoppe’s owned proprietary brand portfolio, upgrades to the store fleet, and improvements to the omni-channel digital platform to deliver the best possible experience to customers. Further, The Vitamin Shoppe is the perfect partner for emerging and growing brands that can benefit from access to over 650 retail doors and The Vitamin Shoppe’s millions of loyalty members at a time in history when it is more important than ever for these brands to demonstrate success and traction in physical retail as well as online.”
Jefferies LLC will be serving as exclusive financial advisor to Kingswood and PIP while McDermott Will & Emery LLP and Sidley Austin LLP will serve as legal counsel. Ducera Partners LLC will be the investment banker and Kirkland & Ellis LLP will be legal counsel to FRG.
