Private equity major Bain Capital is close to buying the UK's largest nutraceutical company, Vitabiotics, for around £900 million, according to multiple media reports.
The negotiations currently remain delicate, and a deal could yet be delayed or fall through, The Times reports.
Founded in 1971 by Dr Kartar Lalvani, a PhD-holder from Bonn University, Vitabiotics has built high-street recognition, and its offerings now include Wellwoman, Pregnacare, Menopace, Feroglobin, Perfectil and Osteocare, and has a presence in 80 countries.
The business is currently led by his son, Tej Lalvani, who took over in 2015, after working his way up the company for nearly three decades.
His father continues to be closely associated with the business, while his elder brother Ajit Lalvani, a professor of infectious diseases at Imperial College London, chairs the company’s scientific advisory board.
Tej is also known for his role as a panellist on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den, a reality television business programme.
Its parent entity, Vitabiotics Group Holdings, has a complex ownership structure and is registered in the British Virgin Islands.
Boston-headquartered Bain Capital has been ploughing capital into the nutrition and wellness space.
It had acquired 1440 Foods, a US-based sports nutrition firm, in 2023 and picked up a stake in India's Emcure Pharmaceuticals.
