PRINT THIS PAGE US Apollo Management to acquire vitamin company for $750m20/10/2003. Source: AltAssets. 
 US private equity firm Apollo Management is to acquire the US vitamin store operator General Nutrition Company (GNC) from Dutch baby food manufacturer Numico for $750m. Numico originally bought the company for $2.5bn in 1999.
‘We are delighted to be able to acquire GNC, the world's premier speciality retailer of vitamins, sports nutrition and diet products,' said Peter Copses, a senior partner at Apollo. ‘GNC is a powerful brand and we look forward to working with its management team, dedicated employees and local franchisees in building the company in the future. '
The year after the GNC deal, Numico purchased supplements maker Rexall Sundown for $1.8bn, making it the largest maker and seller of supplements in the US. But the sector soon ran into a slump, and Numico was forced to write down the valuations of both subsidiaries, posting a net loss of E1.64bn in 2002.
With a debt of around E2bn and its net worth near zero, Numico sold Rexhall to NBTY for $250m in May and announced it was looking for a buyer for GNC, according to Pennsylvania News.
Apollo Management recently lost out to Apax Partners and Permira in its bid to acquire satellite communications company Inmarsat. But the firm was part of the consortium that won the bidding for Ondeo Nalco, the water treatment supplies unit of French utilities company Suez. This transaction is believed to have been valued at around E4bn.
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