Blyth, Inc. is a

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

based marketing and manufacturing company that sells personal and decorative products. In 2001, it was the largest candlemaker in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Subsidiaries include the

multi-level marketing Multi-level marketing (MLM), also called network marketing or pyramid selling, is a controversial marketing strategy for the sale of products or services in which the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salaried workforce selling th ...

companies PartyLite and

Visalus Vi (formerly ViSalus Sciences) is an American multilevel marketing (MLM) company based in Los Angeles, California, with offices in downtown Detroit, Michigan. The company is mostly known for the Body by Vi 90-Day Challenge platform. The company ...

. 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. 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. CBK was to remain obligated on its indebtedness, including approximately $4.8 million of long-term debt. In 2012 Blyth sold the brand

Sterno Sterno is a brand of jellied, denatured alcohol sold in a can and meant to be burned directly in its can. Its primary uses are in food service for buffet heating, in the home for fondue, and as a chafing fuel for heating chafing dishes. Other use ...

, which it had acquired in 1997. In 2015, Blyth was acquired by the private equity firm

Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and pri ...

. Subsidiary Silver Star Brands was sold to Crosby Rock, leaving Blyth with PartyLife.

ViSalus

In 2008 Blyth began a multi-stage takeover of

ViSalus Vi (formerly ViSalus Sciences) is an American multilevel marketing (MLM) company based in Los Angeles, California, with offices in downtown Detroit, Michigan. The company is mostly known for the Body by Vi 90-Day Challenge platform. The company ...

, a multi-level marketing company which sells nutritional supplements and energy drinks. In the first stage of the takeover Blyth purchased a 43.6%

equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...

interest for $14.0 million. In 2011 Blyth invested an additional $2.5 million and increasing their ownership share to 57.5%. By August 2012 Blyth owned a 73% share of Visalus and planned a spin off of the company in an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

. In September 2012,

Moody's Investors Service Moody's Investors Service, often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its historical name. Moody's Investors Service provides international ...

downgraded Blyth's credit from "stable" to "negative," Blyth stated that ViSalus's growth was not properly valued, and Blyth withdrew the

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

citing uncertain market conditions. 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. 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.

References

External links

Yahoo Finance overviewBlyth, Inc. SEC Filings
at Twist.com. {{Multi-level marketing Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies based in Greenwich, Connecticut Manufacturing companies based in Connecticut Multi-level marketing companies Manufacturing companies established in 1976 2015 mergers and acquisitions The Carlyle Group companies Candles 1976 establishments in Connecticut