Brynwood Partners has sold its portfolio company, Balance Bar Company, to NBTY, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group. Brynwood acquired Balance Bar from Kraft Foods in 2009.
Balance Bar Company is a maker of nutrition and energy bars. The company was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Valhalla, NY (www.balancebar.com).
“We are delighted to announce the divestiture of Balance Bar, which was our first investment in our most recent fund, Brynwood VI,” said Hendrik Hartong III, the Chairman of Balance Bar and a Senior Managing Partner with Brynwood Partners. “We are grateful to all of the Balance Bar employees for their hard work and dedication to the business. We wish NBTY continued success with this great brand.”
NBTY is a vertically integrated manufacturer, marketer, distributor and retailer of vitamins, nutritional supplements and related products. NBTY currently markets over 25,000 SKUs under many brands, including Nature’s Bounty, Sundown, American Health, Ester-C, Solgar, MET-Rx, Osteo Bi-Flex, SISU, Rexall, Pure Protein, Body Fortress, Puritan’s Pride, Vitamin World, Holland & Barrett, GNC (UK), Physiologics, and De Tuinen. The company is headquartered in Ronkonkoma, NY (www.nbty.com).
Brynwood Partners is an operationally-focused private equity fund that makes control investments in lower middle market companies. Sectors of interest include consumer products, light manufacturing with low capital intensity, and business services. Brynwood Partners has $500 million of capital under management. The firm was founded in 1984 and is based in Greenwich, CT (www.brynwoodpartners.com).
The Carlyle Group invests in buyouts, growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America focusing on aerospace & defense, automotive & transportation, consumer & retail, energy & power, financial services, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, technology & business services and telecommunications & media. The Carlyle Group employs 1,300 people in 32 offices across six continents and is based in Washington, DC (www.carlyle.com).
Houlihan Lokey Capital served as the investment banking advisor to Balance Bar.
© 2012 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 11-26-12
