Blyth, Inc.

Blyth Incorporated
Company type	Private
Industry	Home accessories
Founded	1976
Headquarters	Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.
Key people	Robert B. Goergen Sr. (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
Revenue	US$ 1.179 billion (2012)
Operating income	US$ 84.566 million (2012)
Net income	US$ 10.046 million (2012)
Total assets	US$ 321.604 million (2012)
Total equity	US$ 58.804 million (2012)
Owner	Carlyle Group
Number of employees	1,700 (Dec 2012)
Website	www.blyth.com

41°01′00″N 73°38′56″W / 41.01674°N 73.64890°W / 41.01674; -73.64890

Blyth, Inc. is a Greenwich, Connecticut based marketing and manufacturing company that sells personal and decorative products. In 2001, it was the largest candlemaker in the United States. Subsidiaries include the multi-level marketing companies PartyLite and Visalus.

History

On May 13, 2002, Blyth announced that it has acquired all of the membership interest in CBK, Ltd., LLC, a designer and marketer of giftware and home decor, sold under the CBK brand.^[2] Blyth purchased the interests in CBK for total cash consideration of approximately $49.5 million. Midwest CBK was sold to MVP Group International in 2011.^[3] CBK was to remain obligated on its indebtedness, including approximately $4.8 million of long-term debt.^[2]

In 2012 Blyth sold the brand Sterno, which it had acquired in 1997.^[4]^[5]

In 2015, Blyth was acquired by the private equity firm Carlyle Group.^[6] Subsidiary Silver Star Brands was sold to Crosby Rock, leaving Blyth with PartyLite.^[7]

ViSalus

In 2008 Blyth began a multi-stage takeover of ViSalus, a multi-level marketing company which sells nutritional supplements and energy drinks.^[8]^[9] In the first stage of the takeover Blyth purchased a 43.6% equity interest for $14.0 million.^[10]^[11] In 2011 Blyth invested an additional $2.5 million and increasing their ownership share to 57.5%.^[12]

By August 2012 Blyth owned a 73% share of Visalus and planned a spin off of the company in an initial public offering. In September 2012, Moody's Investors Service downgraded Blyth's credit from "stable" to "negative,"^[13] Blyth stated that ViSalus's growth was not properly valued, and Blyth withdrew the IPO citing uncertain market conditions.^[14]^[15]

In September 2014, ViSalus' founders and select stockholders arranged to buy back control of the company from Blyth. Blyth remained an equity holder with 10% of ViSalus's stock.^[16]^[17]^[18] The transaction eliminated Blyth's obligation to pay the co-founders $143.2 million as part of the 2008 acquisition. At the time of the transaction, ViSalus' earnings and revenue had declined from a high-point in 2012, and the company had been operating at a loss for 2013 and the first two quarters of 2014.^[17]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Blyth, Inc., Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Mar 14, 2013". secdatabase.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
^ ^a ^b "Blyth, Inc., Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date May 15, 2002". secdatabase.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved Feb 13, 2013.
^ "MVP Group Acquires Midwest-CBK | Home Furnishings News". www.hfnmag.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
^ "Blyth, Inc. Announces Sale Of Sterno Business (Press release)". Bloomberg. PR Newswire. 29 October 2012. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
^ "Blyth Timeline". Blyth, Inc. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
^ "Carlyle Drops $98M On Candle Merchant". Archived from the original on 2018-01-24. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
^ "Crosby Rock". Archived from the original on 2018-02-03. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
^ "ViSalus Launches 'NEON' Energy Drink". BevNET.com. 2015-04-21. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
^ FNS, Summer Banks; SPT (2018-05-15). "Visalus Review | Are MLM Products for Weight Loss?". DietSpotlight. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
^ Edgar Online via Yahoo Finance. "Blyth Inc. 10K - 4/18/2011". Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
^ DM News. "Blyth Makes Two Acquisitions". Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
^ "Blyth, Inc. Completes Third Closing of ViSalus Acquisition". Reuters. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
^ "Moody's lowers outlook on Blyth". Bloomberg Businessweek. September 20, 2012. Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-22.
^ Blyth's ViSalus unit pulls plans for IPO, Marketwatch, 26 September 2012, archived from the original on 28 December 2012, retrieved 10 February 2013
^ Boyd, Roddy (26 November 2012). "The Infernal Machine: From Powder to Dust". Southern Investigative Reporting Foundation. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
^ "ViSalus Completes Founder-Led Management Buyout (Press Release)". MarketWatch. PR Newswire. 5 September 2014. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
^ ^a ^b Walsh, Dustin (14 September 2014). "ViSalus co-founders buy back stake, launch new product line". Crain's Detroit Business. Archived from the original on 16 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
^ "Blyth Inc. (BTH) Is Up Sharply After Majority Sale Of ViSalus". RTT News. 3 September 2014. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.