Balance Bar Divested From Brynwood Partners’ Holdings

Brynwood Partners VI L.P. announced it has sold its portfolio company, Balance Bar Co., to NBTY Inc., a global leader in vitamins, supplements and active nutrition products, and a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group.

Balance Bar, founded in 1992 and acquired by Brynwood VI from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2009, has been an innovator in the nutrition/energy bar category. The company, which is headquartered in Valhalla, N.Y., is one of the leading brands in the high-growth $1 billion nutrition/energy bar category. 

“We are delighted to announce the divestiture of Balance Bar, which was our first investment in our most recent fund, Brynwood VI,” said Hendrik J. Hartong III, chairman of Balance Bar and senior managing partner for Brynwood Partners. “We are grateful to all of the Balance Bar employees for their hard work and dedication to the business. We wish NBTY continued success with this great brand.”

Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Greenwich, Conn., Brynwood Partners is an operationally focused private equity fund that makes control investments in lower middle market companies. Brynwood Partners is currently managing more than $500 million of private equity capital for its limited partners.

NBTY Inc. is the leading vertically integrated manufacturer, marketer, distributor and retailer of high-quality vitamins, nutritional supplements and related products in the United States, with operations worldwide. NBTY currently markets over 25,000 SKUs under many brands, including Nature’s Bounty, Sundown, American Health, Ester-C, Solgar, MET-Rx, Osteo Bi-Flex and others.

The Carlyle Group is a global alternative asset manager with $157 billion of assets under management in 101 active funds and 64 fund of funds vehicles as of Sept. 30, 2012. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,300 people in 32 offices across six continents.