Mumbai: A clutch of private equity funds, including Bain Capital, EQT and TPG, are in the final lap of discussions to acquire a stake in UK-based Vitabiotics, which will potentially value the nutraceutical company between $900 million and $1 billion, two people familiar with the matter said.
Several private equity firms evaluated the asset, but these three were in the last leg of discussions, the people cited above said, adding that binding bids are due in the coming weeks.
Vitabiotics, Bain, EQT and TPG declined to comment on the development.
Broadly, India is seeing renewed investor appetite for preventive nutrition brands as the country’s wellness market scales rapidly. With deal activity accelerating across supplements and nutraceuticals, several mid-size deals have been announced recently as companies look to capture the growing demand for protein, hydration and clean-label products.
Fullife Healthcare, which operates Fast&Up and Chicnutrix, on Wednesday said it concluded a ₹300 crore fundraise led by Elev8 Venture Partners, while USV Private Ltd acquired around a 79% stake in nutraceutical firm Wellbeing Nutrition in an all-cash deal valuing the company at ₹1,583 crore in February.
Founded in 1971 by Kartar Lalvani, Vitabiotics is one of the largest nutraceutical firms in the UK and owns brands such as Pregnacare, Osteocare, Perfectil, Immunace and Menopace. With established global manufacturing capabilities, it is present across 65 countries and is currently led by the second-generation entrepreneur Tej Lalvani, according to its official website.
It caters to all age groups and has a product portfolio spanning multivitamins, iron supplements, hair, skin & nail tablets, blood sugar & menopause tablets, chyawanprash and pregnancy tablets, among others. Its India entity, which operates through Meyer Organics, contributes around 20% of the parent company's revenue of about ₹3,000 crore, according to online reports.
Separately, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) said it will acquire the remaining 49% stake in Oziva for ₹824 crore last month.
Other recent transactions include Kapiva’s $60 million fundraise led by 360 ONE Asset and Vertex Growth in September, while Healthkart raised $153 million in a largely secondary round led by ChrysCapital and Motilal Oswal Alternates last year.
This comes as India’s health and wellness market touched $156 billion last year and is projected to grow to $256.9 billion over the next eight years, according to research firm IMARC Group.
Brands such as Plix, Nutrabay and HyugaLife have also been expanding aggressively, riding rising demand for protein supplements, hydration products and clean-label formulations.