Nellson Nutraceutical, LLC to Acquire Genysis Brand Solutions

Nellson Nutraceutical, LLC (Nellson), a leading North American formulator and manufacturer of branded and private-label nutritional bar and functional powder products, today announced that it has acquired Genysis Brand Solutions Inc. (Genysis).  Genysis is a Salt Lake City-based manufacturer of functional powders. Genysis affiliates Dyad Labs (formerly Genysis Labs) and Sensapure Flavors have been spun out as independent entities and are not included in the transaction.

The business combination strengthens Nellson’s powder production capabilities, expands its product lines and channels, and diversifies its customer mix. “The combination with Genysis, together with the recent opening of our state-of-the-art bar-making facility in Ontario, California further strengthens Nellson’s position as a strategic partner of choice within the fast-growing nutritional bar and functional powders sectors” said Jamie Better, Chief Executive Officer of Nellson. “This acquisition replicates in powders what we achieved in bars three years ago through our acquisition of Multibar, as it combines two respected functional powder manufacturers to create the clear category leader with remarkable capabilities in new product development and best-in-class manufacturing.”

Genysis will operate as a subsidiary of Nellson. Adam Schwinghammer, President of Genysis, who will stay on as a key member of the executive management team, said, “We are excited about merging with Nellson and capitalizing on the respective strengths of the two companies in order to benefit our current and prospective customers.” 

The combined company will have five manufacturing and R&D facilities, offering greater capabilities to customers both in the U.S. and Canada, as well as internationally.

Nellson is a portfolio company of Kohlberg & Company, L.L.C (Kohlberg), a leading private equity firm headquartered in New York.

Seth H. Hollander, Partner at Kohlberg, commented, "Since our acquisition of Nellson in 2013, we have been focused on identifying acquisitions as a means to grow and expand our capabilities, product offering and customer base. Genysis represents a key step toward that end." Hollander added, "Nellson and Genysis are highly complementary businesses, and we are pleased to capitalize on this unique opportunity to create a larger, more diversified company capable of better serving our combined customer bases."

Antares Holdings provided Nellson with fully committed credit facilities sufficient to close the transaction. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP acted as legal counsel to Nellson.  Houlihan Lokey acted as financial advisor to Genysis.

Visit www.nellsonllc.com for more information.

About Nellson

Nellson, the leading full-service nutritional bar and powder provider in North America, is based in Anaheim, California, with production locations in California and Quebec. Founded in 1962, Nellson has over 50 years of diversified expertise in nutrition platforms for bars and powders, serving the nutrition, performance, weight management, snack/breakfast, and functional market segments. Nellson offers technical capabilities, quality assurance, flexible production, research and development, and sales and marketing support.

About Genysis

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Salt Lake City Utah, Genysis is a premier producer of powdered nutritional supplements in North America. Genysis offers its customers a diverse base of products, and is recognized in the industry for exceptional quality, consistency and reliability of service. In addition, the Company places a strong emphasis on R&D, with tremendous institutional knowledge based on over 10 years of functional powder manufacturing expertise. Genysis operates a Salt Lake City facility comprising over 300,000 square feet of production and warehouse space. For more information, visit www.genysisgroup.com.

About Kohlberg & Company

Kohlberg & Company is a leading private equity firm specializing in middle market investing. Since its inception in 1987, Kohlberg has organized eight private equity funds, through which it has raised over $7.5 billion of committed equity capital. Over its 30-year history, Kohlberg has completed 72 platform investments and well over 162 add-on acquisitions, with an aggregate transaction value of over $15 billion. For more information, visit www.kohlberg.com.