Mixed fortunes on the markets
than $3m, but Herbalife finds there is little interest in its bond
issue from European investors.
A private placement of securities worth some US$3.7 million (€3.8m) will help US-based nutraceutical product maker Vital Living to finance the roll out of its heart health product.
The funds raised by the private placement of equity securities to accredited investors will help put the company on a "solid financial basis", according to CEO Brad Edson.
"The company currently has literally no material outstanding debt, and with this infusion of additional capital, we now have a solid foundation for future growth," he said in a statement.
Vital Living manufactures specialised medical foods and nutraceuticals for distribution through physicians, and its first product, a specialised nutraceutical for cardiovascular patients, will begin distribution through the Arizona Heart Institute (AHI) later this summer.
The product will be prescribed and recommended by the AHI medical staff and taken on a monthly basis by the patients, the company said.
Meanwhile, another US company involved in the supplement sector, Herbalife, said that it had cancelled the Euro-denominated tranche of its high-yield bond issue.
The bonds were issued on Friday last week, but European investors were apparently uninterested, despite talk of yields in the region of 11 to 12 per cent. Part of their reluctance is based on the fact that Herbalife, along with many other supplement makers in the US, has been hit by a sharp downturn in the market this year.
The issue had been planned to comprise a $150 million tranche and a €100 million tranche, but the final issue was just $165 million. Herbalife said it would use the proceeds to finance acquisitions.
