New York, Feb. 2 - Nutritional supplement maker Herbalife Ltd. received a buyout proposal Friday from a private equity group led by its chairman for $38 a share in cash, valuing the company at about $2.7 billion.
Los Angeles-based Herbalife said the offer is from Whitney V LP, which is a fund managed by buyout firm J.H. Whitney & Co. based in Stamford, Connecticut. Peter Castleman, managing director of Whitney V, is chairman of Herbalife.
Whitney and another buyout firm, Golden Gate Capital, bought Herbalife in 2002 and took it public in 2004, but retained a significant holding. Whitney and affiliates currently own about 27 percent of Herbalife's common stock, the company said in a statement.
The offer represents an almost 15 percent premium to Herbalife's closing stock price Friday.
The company's shares rose almost 18 percent in late electronic trading to $39 after closing at $33.10 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Herbalife shares plummeted more than 20 percent Jan. 5 after the company lowered its sales forecast due to weakness in Mexico, one of its largest markets.
The company said it has established a special committee of independent directors to review the proposal and will retain financial and legal advisors.
Castleman and other representatives of Whitney could not be reached.
Herbalife was founded by entrepreneur Mark Hughes, who built the business into a multi-billion dollar enterprise over two decades. But his death in 2000 caused turmoil at the company.