North Castle Partners has sold Doctor’s Best, a distributor of branded nutritional supplements, to publicly traded Xiamen Kingdomway Group. North Castle acquired Doctor’s Best in January 2014.
Doctor’s Best is a marketer and distributor of branded nutritional supplements, with more than 300 products sold through the Internet and brick-and-mortar retail. The company is led by CEO Gale Bensussen and is headquartered in Irvine, CA (www.drbvitamins.com).
“Our investment in Doctor’s Best illustrates North Castle’s ability, as a focused fund, to leverage knowledge, network and expertise to provide a company with growth opportunities and set a path for ongoing success,” said Chip Baird, CEO and Founder of North Castle Partners.
North Castle makes control investments in consumer-driven product and service companies located in North America with enterprise values ranging from $50 million to $500 million. Sectors of interest include beauty and personal care; consumer health; fitness, recreation and sports; home and leisure; and nutrition. North Castle is headquartered in Greenwich, CT (www.northcastlepartners.com).
“With nearly two decades of experience in the healthy, active and sustainable living market, our extensive network of relationships in this industry, coupled with our experience in and knowledge of the category, provided insights that we believe helped Doctor’s Best develop into a strategically important part of Kingdomway’s future,” said Alison Minter, Managing Director of North Castle Partners.
Xiamen Kingdomway Group is a nutrition company that sells its products through retail stores in Singapore, sales outlets throughout Southeast Asia, a joint venture in Japan and wholly owned subsidiaries in the United States, including Vit-Best Nutrition. The company was founded in 1997 and is traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SHE: 002626). The group has 1,500 employees and is headquartered in Xiamen, China (www.kingdomway.com).
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • 6-16-16
