Personalized health and wellness company Thorne HealthTech has reached a definitive agreement with investment firm L Catterton for the acquisition of all outstanding shares of common stock. The acquisition will be carried out via a tender offer of $10.20 per share in cash, with a transaction value of about $680 million. Thorne's independent Special Committee and Board of Directors have each unanimously approved the agreement and recommend that all stockholders tender their shares in the tender offer.
"This transaction is an excellent outcome for all of our stakeholders and marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Thorne," said Paul Jacobson, Chairman and CEO of Thorne. “L Catterton has an impressive track record of fostering the growth and success of leading global consumer brands. Together with their deep expertise in the health and wellness industry, global reach, and extensive operational capabilities, I am confident L Catterton is the right partner to fuel Thorne's long-term growth."
L Catterton’s portfolio spans over 250 investments, with a concentration in the wellness and fitness sector. The firm manages about $34 billion in equity capital and has made several major investments in well-known consumer brands–including Tally Health, Dr David Sinclair’s consumer longevity company.
Background
As functional CPG strategist Joshua Schall explained in a recent YouTube video, the acquisition means L Catterton gains access to Thorne’s data while Thorne gets a private equity company with global reach, extensive operational capabilities along with deep expertise in health and wellness, health technology as well as fitness technology.
“Some of the related L Catterton investments would be Persona, which is a personalized nutrition company that exited to Nestle Health Science, Nutrafol, which was sold to Unilever and while this one isn't very impactful, a fun one for my sports nutrition industry followers, L Catterton still owns IFA Store, which is Italy's leading DTC platform in the supplement category,” explained Schall.
The business strategist also pointed out that L Catterton has a lot of interesting synergies it could leverage with health and fitness technology companies: “L Catterton still owns Tally Health, which has kind of a similar business model to Thorne, but focused only on anti-aging and longevity. And as I mentioned earlier, Thorne does have its own longevity test and supplements, but this could be a combination play for L Catterton.
I share all of those portfolio names because I think it shows that L Catterton is a great partner to fuel Thorne's long-term growth aspirations of being a major player within the next era of health–One that will certainly be data driven, wellness-centric, with a guiding focus on preventative care that extends the health span of each individual,” said Schall.
The transaction is expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter of 2023, subject to meeting customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Once completed, Thorne will transition to private ownership and no longer trade on the NASDAQ.
