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ViSalus Sciences is a multilevel marketing company based in Los Angeles, California, with offices in Troy, Michigan.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.metroactive.com/metro/04.18.07/visalus-0716.html )〕 The company markets weight management nutritional products, dietary supplements and energy drinks in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Blyth, Inc., Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Mar 14, 2013 )〕 As of September 2014, the company had a network of approximately 31,000 independent distributors.〔〔 Weight management products, including Vi-Shape meal replacement shake and Vi-Trim Clear Control Drink Mix, form the bulk of the company's sales.〔 ==History== ViSalus Sciences was originally started in 1997 by Nick Sarnicola and Blake Mallen, two distributors with The Free Network, LLC, a telecommunications multi-level marketing (MLM) company based in Troy, Michigan.〔 After The Free Network folded in March 2005, ViSalus was purchased by wireless Internet developer Ryan Blair with investment from Ropart Asset Management, a private equity firm owned by Robert B. Goergen. Sarnicola and Mallen were retained as sales chief and CMO, respectively. The company was moved to the San Francisco Bay Area.〔 The 2008 recession put ViSalus near bankruptcy, with the business $6 million in debt. In 2008, ViSalus was acquired by Blyth, Inc., a multi-level marketing company that sells home decor which had been founded by Georgen.〔 In the first stage of the takeover – completed in 2008 – Blyth purchased a 43.6% equity interest for $14.0 million.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Blyth Inc. 10K - 4/18/2011 )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Blyth Makes Two Acquisitions )〕 By 2010 the company had returned to profitability, and ViSalus was making over $15 million a month. Blyth completed the second phase of the takeover in 2011, investing an additional $2.5 million and increasing their ownership share to 57.5%.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Blyth, Inc. Completes Third Closing of ViSalus Acquisition )〕 In August 2012, Blyth – which then owned a 73% share of Visalus – planned to spin off the company in an initial public offering of shares worth up to $175 million. In September 2012, Moody's Investors Service downgraded Blyth's credit from "stable" to "negative," ViSalus reported extremely high growth rates in 2012, being audited at 450%, which made it one of the fastest growing companies of its size. Despite this, Blyth stated that the company's growth was not properly valued.〔 Blyth withdrew the Visalus IPO citing uncertain market conditions. According to the ''Detroit Free Press'', one reason why the Visalus IPO was cancelled was because the co-founders were artificially inflating sales numbers: "ViSalus has been criticized for allegedly puffing up its record sales in 2012 by recruiting top product distributors in the industry. Like mercenaries, these distributors were purportedly willing to switch company affiliation for a price, and after ViSalus peaked, they jumped to another direct sales company. Such a practice would be legal." In 2013, ViSalus launched in the United Kingdom.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.bmmagazine.co.uk/news/17436/visalus-launches-in-the-united-kingdom/ )〕 On February 18, 2014, ViSalus announced its expansion to Germany and Austria. In September 2014, ViSalus announced that it had become a private, independent company. ViSalus arranged a transaction with Blyth to convert the company's stock to common stock, although Blyth remains an equity holder with 10% of ViSalus's stock. The transaction eliminated Blyth's obligation to pay the co-founders $143.2 million as part of the 2008 acquisition. At the time of the transaction, ViSalus' earnings and revenue had declined from a high-point in 2012, and the company had been operating at a loss for 2013 and the first two quarters of 2014.〔 According to the ''Detroit Free Press'', Visalus was at a high of 114,000 distributors in the summer of 2012.〔 According to a report in ''Crain's Detroit Business'', Visalus had 76,000 distributors in June 2013, which declined to 31,800 distributors in September 2014. The article also reported that Sarnicola is the largest distributor in Visalus, with his distributor team accounting for 74% of company revenue.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「ViSalus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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