Leading Manufacturer of Top-Brand Vitamins and Dietary Supplements Poised for Future Growth and Expansion
Sun Capital Partners, Inc. (“Sun Capital”), a leading private investment firm specializing in leveraged buyouts and investments in market-leading companies, today announced that an affiliate has acquired CornerStone Research & Development, Inc. (“CornerStone” or the “Company”), a leading global contract manufacturer of top-branded vitamins and dietary supplements, from Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
CornerStone is a leading “pure-play” nutritional supplement manufacturer in the U.S. and develops, produces, and packages more than 500 different capsule, tablet, and specialty powder products for its customers. These include vitamin and mineral supplements, botanicals, energy and weight management supplements, probiotics, and anti-aging/general wellness supplements that are sold through leading national and international nutritional product marketers and retailers. The Company can manage the entire formulation, design, and product sourcing process for its customers. Its packaging capabilities include bottles, capsules, tablets, blister cards, pillow-packs, and bulk packaging.
Headquartered in Ogden, UT, CornerStone operates a state-of-the-art 190,000 square foot automated manufacturing facility that is capable of producing over five billion tablets and capsules annually, making it one of the largest in the industry. The facility’s scale, robust product and R&D capabilities, and pharmaceutical grade quality control serve as a significant differentiator and competitive advantage. CornerStone recently began focusing on materially improving its operational performance and plans to continue building on this success by streamlining the organization, increasing manufacturing automation, and pursuing a number of growth initiatives, including adding new product capabilities and expanding distribution channels. Sun Capital has prior experience in the nutraceutical industry with former affiliated portfolio company Elan Nutrition, a formulator and manufacturer of snack and nutrition bars, which nearly doubled revenue and improved EBITDA from a loss to solid, positive double-digit performance during its ownership by an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners.
“CornerStone is a market leader that has all the ingredients for long-term success,” said Marc Leder, Co-CEO of Sun Capital Partners. “With our industry experience and operational expertise, we will support management in executing initiatives designed to continue to grow and improve the business.”
Morgan Lewis served as the legal advisor to Sun Capital on the transaction.
About Sun Capital Partners, Inc.
Sun Capital Partners, Inc. is a leading private investment firm focused on leveraged buyouts, equity, debt, and other investments in companies that can benefit from its in–house operating professionals and experience. Sun Capital affiliates have invested in more than 295 companies worldwide with combined sales in excess of $45 billion since Sun Capital’s inception in 1995. Sun Capital has offices in Boca Raton, Los Angeles, and New York, as well as affiliates in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Shanghai and Shenzhen. For more information, please visit www.SunCapPart.com.
About CornerStone Research & Development
CornerStone Research & Development, headquartered in Ogden, UT, is a leading, global contract manufacturer of top-branded vitamins and dietary supplements for nutritional product marketers and retailers. The Company’s is the sixth largest “pure-play” nutritional supplement manufacturer and develops, produces, and packages vitamin and mineral supplements, botanicals, energy and weight management supplements, probiotics, and anti-aging/general wellness supplements that are sold domestically and internationally. For more information, please visit www.cornerstonerdi.com.
