03.01.10
Martek Biosciences Corporation, Columbia, MD, has entered into an agreement to purchase Amerifit Brands Inc., a consumer health and wellness company, from Charterhouse Group, Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at $200 million. Amerifit Brands develops, markets and distributes branded consumer health and wellness products focused on women’s and digestive health benefits. Its key products include: Culturelle, a probiotic supplement; AZO, an OTC brand addressing symptom relief, detection and prevention of urinary tract infections; and Estroven, an all-natural nutritional supplement brand addressing the symptoms of menopause. “Amerifit’s first-class sales and marketing infrastructure and proven management team for selling branded consumer health and wellness products provide Martek with a platform for accelerating the commercialization of our nutritional product pipeline,” stated Steve Dubin, Martek’s CEO. “This new capability will enable Martek to move up the value chain by getting closer to the consumer and should result in increased revenue and gross profit opportunities.”