Nutraceutical To Be Bought For 49% Premium, In a Deal Valued At $446 Million

Nutraceutical International Corp. agreed Monday to be acquired by private equity firm HGGC LLC in a deal valued at $446 million, including debt. Under terms of the deal, Nutraceutical shareholders will get $41.80 in cash for each Nutraceutical share they own, representing a 49% premium to Friday's closing price of $28.00, and 16% above the Jan. 17, 2017 record close of $36.15. The bid would give the maker and seller of branded nutritional supplements a market value of $386.7 million. Nutraceutical said it expects the deal to close in the second half of the year, but will undertake a 60-day "go shop" period to field potential other bids. "We are pleased to announce this transaction, which delivers significant value to our stockholders, many of whom have been with us since our initial IPO in 1998," said Nutraceutical Chief Executive Bill Gay. The stock is currently halted for news, and is set to resume trade at 7:30 a.m. ET. It has tumbled 20% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.4%.