BrandWikiReturn

Blyth, Inc.

Blyth, Inc. is a Greenwich, Connecticut based marketing and manufacturing company that sells personal and decorative products. In 2001, it was the largest candlemaker in the United States. Subsidiaries include the multi-level marketing companies PartyLite and Visalus.

History

On May 13, 2002, Blyth announced that it has acquired all of the membership interest in CBK, Ltd., LLC, a designer and marketer of giftware and home decor, sold under the CBK brand.[2] Blyth purchased the interests in CBK for total cash consideration of approximately $49.5 million. Midwest CBK was sold to MVP Group International in 2011.[3] CBK was to remain obligated on its indebtedness, including approximately $4.8 million of long-term debt.[2]

In 2012 Blyth sold the brand Sterno, which it had acquired in 1997.[4][5]

In 2015, Blyth was acquired by the private equity firm Carlyle Group.[6] Subsidiary Silver Star Brands was sold to Crosby Rock, leaving Blyth with PartyLite.[7]

ViSalus

In 2008 Blyth began a multi-stage takeover of ViSalus, a multi-level marketing company which sells nutritional supplements and energy drinks.[8][9] In the first stage of the takeover Blyth purchased a 43.6% equity interest for $14.0 million.[10][11] In 2011 Blyth invested an additional $2.5 million and increasing their ownership share to 57.5%.[12]

By August 2012 Blyth owned a 73% share of Visalus and planned a spin off of the company in an initial public offering. In September 2012, Moody's Investors Service downgraded Blyth's credit from "stable" to "negative,"[13] Blyth stated that ViSalus's growth was not properly valued, and Blyth withdrew the IPO citing uncertain market conditions.[14][15]

In September 2014, ViSalus' founders and select stockholders arranged to buy back control of the company from Blyth. Blyth remained an equity holder with 10% of ViSalus's stock.[16][17][18] The transaction eliminated Blyth's obligation to pay the co-founders $143.2 million as part of the 2008 acquisition. At the time of the transaction, ViSalus' earnings and revenue had declined from a high-point in 2012, and the company had been operating at a loss for 2013 and the first two quarters of 2014.[17]

External links

References

  1. Blyth, Inc., Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Mar 14, 2013 secdatabase.com, retrieved April 26, 2013^
  2. Blyth, Inc., Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date May 15, 2002 secdatabase.com, retrieved Feb 13, 2013^
  3. MVP Group Acquires Midwest-CBK www.hfnmag.com, retrieved 23 September 2016^
  4. Blyth, Inc. Announces Sale Of Sterno Business (Press release) Bloomberg, 29 October 2012, retrieved 10 June 2014^
  5. Blyth Timeline Blyth, Inc., retrieved 10 June 2014^
  6. Carlyle Drops $98M On Candle Merchant retrieved 2017-07-25^
  7. Crosby Rock retrieved 2017-07-25^
  8. ViSalus Launches 'NEON' Energy Drink BevNET.com, 2015-04-21, retrieved 2019-01-31^
  9. Summer Banks FNS. Visalus Review DietSpotlight, 2018-05-15, retrieved 2019-01-31^
  10. Edgar Online via Yahoo Finance. Blyth Inc. 10K - 4/18/2011 retrieved 15 May 2012^
  11. DM News. Blyth Makes Two Acquisitions retrieved 3 May 2012^
  12. Blyth, Inc. Completes Third Closing of ViSalus Acquisition Reuters, retrieved 6 May 2012^
  13. Moody's lowers outlook on Blyth Bloomberg Businessweek, September 20, 2012, retrieved 2012-09-22^
  14. Blyth's ViSalus unit pulls plans for IPO Marketwatch, 26 September 2012, retrieved 10 February 2013^
  15. Roddy Boyd. The Infernal Machine: From Powder to Dust Southern Investigative Reporting Foundation, 26 November 2012, retrieved 31 May 2014^
  16. ViSalus Completes Founder-Led Management Buyout (Press Release) MarketWatch, 5 September 2014, retrieved 23 September 2014^
  17. Dustin Walsh. ViSalus co-founders buy back stake, launch new product line Crain's Detroit Business, 14 September 2014, retrieved 23 September 2014^
  18. Blyth Inc. (BTH) Is Up Sharply After Majority Sale Of ViSalus RTT News, 3 September 2014, retrieved 23 September 2014^