Irwindale, CA, November 24, 2014 – Nellson Nutraceutical (“Nellson”), a leading North American formulator and manufacturer of branded and private-label nutritional bar and functional powder products, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Le Groupe Multibar Inc. (“Multibar”), a Montreal-based manufacturer of nutritional and snack bars. The acquisition significantly increases Nellson’s production capabilities, expands product lines and channels and diversifies its customer mix.
Scott Greenwood, CEO of Nellson, who will retain his title in the combined entity, said “the merger with Multibar further strengthens our position as a strategic partner of choice within the fast growing Nutraceutical and functional snack bars sector.” “This acquisition combines two respected nutritional bar manufacturers and creates a platform for growth with remarkable capabilities in new product development and best-in-class manufacturing.”
Jean Filion, President of Multibar, who will stay on as a key member of the executive management team, said: “We are excited about merging with Nellson, and capitalizing on the respective strengths of the two companies in order to benefit our current and prospective customers.”
The combined company will have four manufacturing and R&D facilities offering greater capabilities to customers both in the U.S. and Canada, as well as internationally.
Nellson is a portfolio company of Kohlberg & Company, L.L.C (“Kohlberg”), a leading private equity firm headquartered in New York.
Seth H. Hollander, Partner of Kohlberg, commented: “Since our acquisition of Nellson in 2013, we have been focused on identifying acquisitions as a means to grow and expand our capabilities, product offering and customer base. Multibar represents a key step toward that end.” Ahmed I. Wahla, also Partner of Kohlberg, added, “Nellson and Multibar are highly complementary businesses, and we are pleased to capitalize on this unique opportunity to create a larger, more diversified company capable of better serving our combined customer bases.”
GE Capital and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company have provided Nellson with fully committed credit facilities sufficient to close the transaction. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Stikeman Elliott LLP acted as legal counsel to Nellson. Houlihan Lokey acted as financial advisor to Multibar.
The transaction is expected to close in approximately 30-60 days, and is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
About Nellson
Headquartered in Irwindale, California, Nellson is a leading formulator and manufacturer of branded and private- label nutritional bar and functional powder products in North America. The Company develops and manufactures nutritional bars and functional powders in a wide variety of ingredient formulations and product formats for its customer base of athletic, energy, diet and medical nutrition end markets. The Company provides superior products that meet consumer demand for nutrition, flavor, texture and convenience. Nellson co-manufactures for major brands in every market channel including CPG (retail, food service and warehouse sales), weight management, multilevel marketing, store brands, medical distribution and direct to consumer marketing. For more information visit www.nellsonllc.com.
About Multibar
Founded in 1987 and Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Multibar is a premier producer of nutritional and snack bars in North America. Multibar offers its customers a diverse base of products, and is recognized in the industry for exceptional quality, consistency and reliability of service. In addition, the Company places a strong emphasis on R&D, with unsurpassed institutional knowledge based on nearly 30 years of bar manufacturing expertise. Multibar operates a Montreal based state-of-the art facility, that consists of over 250,000 square feet of production and finished goods warehouse space. For more information visit www.multibar.com.
About Kohlberg & Company
Kohlberg & Company is a leading private equity firm specializing in middle market investing. Since its inception in 1987, Kohlberg has organized seven private equity funds, through which it has raised over $5 billion of committed equity capital. Over its 27-year history, Kohlberg has completed 63 platform investments and well over 100 add- on acquisitions, with an aggregate transaction value of over $9 billion. For more information, visit www.kohlberg.com.
Contact:
Sue Congdon
Nellson Nutraceutical, LLC
5801 Ayala Avenue
Irwindale, CA 91706
Phone: 626-815-3336
www.nellsonllc.com
Fax: 626-334-4731