P&G buys supplements maker Thorne for $3.8 billion as wellness push intensifies
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A plant wall with Procter & Gamble's logo is pictured at the entrance to the company's highly automated cleaning products factory in Tabler Station, West Virginia, U.S., May 28, 2021. Picture taken May 28, 2021. REUTERS/Timothy Aeppel
By Alexander Marrow and Juveria Tabassum
Aug 4 (Reuters) - Procter & Gamble is acquiring supplements maker Thorne for $3.8 billion in cash from LVMH-backed private equity firm L Catterton, the companies said on Tuesday, as the consumer goods giant deepens its push into health and wellness to capitalize on growing demand for self-care products.
The takeover marks a major push by Tide detergent maker P&G into the health and wellness market, aligning the consumer goods giant with a growing focus on healthier lifestyles fueled by rising interest in preventive care and the popularity of weight-loss drugs.
Top multinational consumer goods giants are jostling for space in the crowded vitamins, minerals and supplements (VMS) sector.
P&G shares were up about 1% in afternoon trading following the news.
P&G rival Unilever in April announced a deal to buy U.S.-based nutritional supplements brand Gruns for an undisclosed amount, while Nestle is conducting a strategic review of its low-growth, low-margin VMS brands.
P&G, whose supplements brands portfolio currently includes New Chapter, Metamucil and Align Probiotic, last week, forecast slower annual sales growth, even as its beauty and wellness division posted strong results, helped by consumers' willingness to spend on discretionary self-care products.
The health and wellness sector was expanding much faster than P&G's household staples, said Jay Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets analyst.
Premium nutritional supplements would potentially offer P&G a way to reach younger consumers, he added.
CEO Shailesh Jejurikar first announced the deal in an interview with CNBC earlier on Tuesday.
L Catterton took Thorne private in a $680 million deal in 2023. Thorne was the subject of a bid from consumer health company Haleon, sources told Reuters in June, but Jejurikar declined to say whether P&G had won an intense bidding war.
The deal would represent a strong return of investment of more than $3 billion for L Catterton.
L Catterton Partner Rajan Shah said the firm was confident P&G was best positioned to build on the growth acceleration it had overseen.
Thorne, founded in 1984, went public in 2021 and was forecasting annual sales of $290 million in 2023 before the L Catterton deal took the company private. CNBC reported in April that Thorne was set to reach $650 million in sales this year.
(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru and Alexander Marrow in London; Editing by Anil D'Silva, Shreya Biswas and Joyjeet Das)
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