Vitabiotics Ltd., the UK vitamin company led by ex-Dragons’ Den investor Tej Lalvani, is in the early stages of exploring options including a possible sale, people with knowledge of the matter said.
London-based Vitabiotics is speaking with potential advisers, according to the people. A sale could value Vitabiotics at as much as £1 billion ($1.2 billion), they said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.
The deliberations are preliminary and there’s no certainty Vitabiotics will decide to push ahead with a transaction, the people said. A representative for Vitabiotics couldn’t be reached for comment.
Founded in the 1970s by Lalvani’s father Kartar Lalvani, Vitabiotics produces a range of vitamins and supplements for adults and children to help manage everything from fatigue to fertility and brain performance. Its popular brands include Feroglobin, Perfectil, Wellman and Wellwoman.
Tej Lalvani, the company’s chief executive officer, is known in the UK as a former Dragon on the popular reality television show Dragons’ Den, which sees entrepreneurs pitch products to a group of investors in the hope of receiving financial backing.
A sale of Vitabiotics would add to roughly $153 billion worth of deals targeting health-care companies this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s up more than a fifth on the same period in 2022, with dealmaking in the sector defying a broader slump in mergers and acquisitions globally.
