By Amy-Jo Crowley, Emma-Victoria Farr and Abigail Summerville
LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Sunday Natural, an online retailer that makes nutrition products including vitamins and food supplements, is exploring options including a possible sale, according to people familiar with the matter.
Berlin, Germany-based Sunday Natural is working with U.S. boutique investment bank Houlihan Lokey on a possible sale that could value the company between 600 million euros ($655.68 million) and 800 million euros, the sources said, adding that the company’s founders are looking to take advantage of high valuations in the sector.
The auction for Sunday Natural has attracted interest from private equity firms and consumer healthcare firms, the sources said. CVC Partners and other potential buyers submitted initial bids a few weeks ago, two of the sources said.
The sources, who requested anonymity because the matter is confidential, cautioned that discussions are ongoing but no deal is guaranteed.
Sunday Natural did not respond to requests for comment. Houlihan Lokey and CVC Partners declined to comment.
Sunday Natural was launched in 2013 by a group of dieticians and other nutrition specialists who wanted to create a nutrition company that used higher quality, raw ingredients in products.
Sunday Natural, which sells directly to consumers through its website, is expected to generate earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of about 50 million euros this year, one of the sources said. That compares to EBITDA of 30 million euros in 2022, the source said.
Vitamin and nutrition product makers have sold for higher valuations in recent years, as consumers spend more on health and wellness products since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, Nestlé bought The Bountiful Company’s vitamin and supplements brands from KKR for $5.75 billion. In 2019, Franchise Group Inc bought Vitamin Shoppe for $208 million.
($1 = 0.9151 euros)
(Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley in London, Emma-Victoria Farr in Frankfurt, and Abigail Summerville in New York; Editing by Anirban Sen and Deepa Babington)