Science in Sport directors have thrown their weight behind a takeover bid for the UK sports-nutrition group from private-equity firm B-D Capital.
In a stock exchange filing today (17 April), Science in Sport said its independent directors had agreed the terms of a deal.
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The development came 24 hours after B-D Capital’s interest in the business emerged.
B-D Capital’s takeover offer amounts to £0.34 a share for Science in Sport, valuing the owner of the SiS and PhD Nutrition brands at £82.3m ($109.1m).
In the first half of 2024, Science in Sport ran up a loss of £2.5m. The loss was lower than the £3.3m booked a year earlier but came amid a 25.4% drop in first-half revenues to £25.7m.
In July last year, the company conducted a capital raise worth around £8.5m.
A trading update in January included a set of partial unaudited results in which Science in Sport said it expected its annual revenues to have fallen by 17.5% to £51.9m in 2024.
“SiS has built a fantastic portfolio of sports nutrition products and the current management team has been instrumental in reshaping its strategic focus. Nonetheless, whilst progress has been substantive, much remains to be done to optimise the value potential of the SiS group,” Science in Sport non-executive director Henry Turcan said.
“The SiS board believes that the current offer reflects the premium nature of the SiS brands and market position which has been established and rewards shareholders for the faith and capital provided, most recently at the turnaround fundraising undertaken in July last year at a price of 17 pence per share.”
He added: “The acquisition will provide SiS shareholders with the opportunity to realise the value of their holdings, in cash, at an attractive value without providing further capital or assuming additional risk likely to be necessary to drive meaningful growth and value creation over the medium term.”
London-headquartered Science in Sport, set up in 1992, markets gels, powders and bars through supermarket chains, specialist sports retailers and online. The company, which also has tie-ups with professional sports teams, has a production facility in northern England.
In 2023, BD-Capital made an investment in Netherlands-based food supplements company Bonusan. It also has gut-health food supplement provider Symprove in its portfolio.
BD-Capital partner Andrew Dawson said the private-equity firm had been “impressed by the attractive fundamentals and high growth potential of SiS’ two brands”.
He added: “We have been monitoring the business for several years and have been highly impressed by the results achieved by the current management team in the last 18 months. As an operator-led, sector-specialist investor, BD-Capital has strong experience in supporting leading consumer health and VMS businesses and we will bring to bear our full range of capabilities to support SiS’ growth.”
The Science in Sport independent directors who are investors in the business have said they will sell their shares to B-D Capital.
Overall, the private-equity firm has received “irrevocable undertakings” from Science in Sport shareholders who together own just over 40% of the business that they will vote in favour of the bid at an upcoming shareholder meeting.
