{"id":632151,"date":"2026-10-16T06:42:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T06:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/632151\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T06:42:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T06:42:16","slug":"are-billion-dollar-supplement-deals-becoming-the-new-benchmark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/632151\/","title":{"rendered":"Are billion-dollar supplement deals becoming the new benchmark?"},"content":{"rendered":"

IM8\u2019s $1 billion non-dilutive growth financing deal<\/a> and Procter & Gamble\u2019s $3.8 billion acquisition of Thorne HealthTech<\/a> have raised questions about whether similarly large transactions could become more common in the supplement industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still think the $1 billion deal is not going to become normalized in the near future,\u201d said Noah Voreades, CEO and cofounder of Thrive Advisory Group. \u201cThere\u2019s only a small cohort of companies or private equity firms that can write such large checks.\u201d <\/p>\n

Global M&A deal value approached $5 trillion in 2025, with transactions worth at least $1 billion accounting for 57% of the total, according to Pitchbook<\/a>. That was the highest share in a decade.<\/p>\n

The number of deals exceeding $5 billion rose to 122 in 2025, up from 76 in 2024. The momentum continued into early 2026. Much of the broader megadeal activity has been driven by companies investing heavily in AI capabilities and the energy infrastructure needed to support them.<\/p>\n

Additionally, major corporations have record amounts of cash on hand and are capitalizing on a lax regulatory environment<\/a> to make transactions.<\/p>\n

A new benchmark?<\/p>\n

In the supplement and wellness sectors, large consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and private equity firms are acquiring brands, contributing to broader market consolidation.<\/p>\n

Large CPG and food corporations may be struggling to build new, organic health and longevity categories, so acquiring established brands is a lucrative alternative. GLP-1 weight-loss medications play a role, too, by putting a premium on functional wellness as consumers seek protein, gut health and recovery support. <\/p>\n

The environment is also bolstered by major players that are divesting legacy food to put funds on higher-margin, science-backed or direct-to-consumer subscription supplement brands.<\/p>\n

Recent $1 billion supplement deals<\/p>\n

* Procter & Gamble (P&G) \/ Thorne: P&G agreed to acquire Thorne HealthTech for $3.8 billion.<\/p>\n

* Kirin \/ Jamieson Wellness: Japanese beverage and beer company Kirin is buying Canada\u2019s Jamieson Wellness for about $1.8 billion, which includes the acquisition of debt.<\/p>\n

*Bain Capital \/ Vitabiotics: Private equity firm Bain Capital agreed to acquire UK-based vitamin brand Vitabiotics. The deal was valued at roughly $1.2 billion.<\/p>\n

*Yellow Wood Partners \/ Nestl\u00e9 Brands: Nestl\u00e9 agreed to sell a portfolio of mainstream vitamin and supplement brands (including Nature\u2019s Bounty and Puritan\u2019s Pride) to private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners for $1 billion.<\/p>\n

* IM8 secured a $1 billion growth financing commitment from General Catalyst\u2019s Customer Value Fund for $1 billion.<\/p>\n

* Unilever \/ Gr\u00fcns: Unilever acquired an 80% stake in nutrient-gummy startup Gr\u00fcns for approximately $890 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the supplement industry, however, billion-dollar deals may still be an anomaly. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think the big challenge for companies currently in the queue is they\u2019re going to want to use Gr\u00fcns and IM8 to justify why they should potentially get a billion-dollar exit,\u201d Voreades said. \u201cThis level of exit is not solely revenue driven. It\u2019s about brand reputation, scientific efficacy and brand credibility, which all matter in the final exit calculus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Voreades said Thorne\u2019s valuation reflected a combination of tangible and intangible assets that set the brand apart from others in its category.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think the billion-dollar-and-above deal is the new benchmark,\u201d he said. \u201cHowever, it will be a level more brands at certain revenue levels might be looking to exit at.\u201d <\/p>\n

Michael Bush, managing partner at GrowthWays Partners, said only a handful of companies will transact at these high valuations. <\/p>\n

IM8, the wellness brand backed by David Beckham, was an outlier, Bush said, pointing to its $1 billion financing deal announced in July.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an investment in what was fundamentally a startup built around a celebrity founder,\u201d he noted. \u201cStill, as some of our more mature or fast-growing brands continue to make inroads, there will always be room for large transactions. The core issue, though, is expectation setting around these deals. I\u2019ve recently had a conversation with a founder with a billion-dollar exit goal, but that founder is missing a few key items.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, Bush said companies cannot reach that level of exit unless they have a recognized name and global following, have a product that generates positive EBITDA, and have a brand that is not niche or meets the needs of only a small corner of the commodity market. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe should all plan for average and shoot for above average, but billion-dollar transactions don\u2019t happen without good reason,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are sophisticated buyers with a strong thesis behind their valuations.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"IM8\u2019s $1 billion non-dilutive growth financing deal and Procter & Gamble\u2019s $3.8 billion acquisition of Thorne HealthTech have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":632152,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[134,111,139,556,69],"class_list":["post-632151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-health","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nutrition","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=632151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/632152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}