Guardion Health Sciences to sell Viactiv brand and business to Doctor’s Best

Guardion Health Sciences announced last night that it has signed an equity purchase agreement to sell its Activ Nutritional, LLC subsidiary, which owns the Viactiv brand and business, to Doctor’s Best, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kingdomway USA Corp., for gross cash consideration of $17.2M, payable in full at closing. The transaction has been approved by the respective boards of directors of Guardion and of Doctor’s Best, and remains subject to normal and customary closing conditions, including approval of the transaction by the company’s stockholders at a forthcoming Special Meeting of Stockholders. Assuming requisite approval by the company’s stockholders, the transaction is expected to close during the quarter ending June 30. Robert Weingarten, the Chairman of the board of directors of the company, commented, “As we have previously announced, in light of continuing market conditions and economic realities, the Board of Directors has been exploring a diverse range of strategic transaction options for more than a year in an effort to deliver enhanced value to our stockholders, including a sale of the Company and/or its Viactiv brand and business. In that regard, as previously announced, the Company engaged Alantra, LLC, an experienced and successful international healthcare investment banking firm, as the Company’s exclusive financial advisor to assist with the strategic review and transaction process, and this transaction represents a culmination of this extensive review process. The Company’s Board of Directors unanimously believes that this transaction is in the best interests of the Company’s stockholders.”