Reuters: Global Markets: Blyth shares tumble after unit pulls IPO

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Blyth shares tumble after unit pulls IPO Sep 26th 2012, 13:12 Wed Sep 26, 2012 9:12am EDT (Reuters) - Candle maker Blyth Inc's (BTH.N) shares tumbled as much as 27 percent before the bell and were poised to open at their lowest level since June last year, after the company's ViSalus unit withdrew its planned initial public offering. Nutritional supplements seller ViSalus Inc, in which Blyth holds a more than 70 percent stake, withdrew its proposed IPO of up to $175 million, citing uncertain market conditions. Blyth's stock, which touched a four-year high on news of the IPO in August, was down about 25 percent in premarket trading on Wednesday. It closed at $32.57 on Tuesday. The stock lost about a fifth of its value since last Thursday when rating agency Moody's Investor Service changed its outlook on the company to 'negative'. ViSalus filed for the IPO in August and was planning to use the proceeds to pay a special dividend to pre-offering shareholders. Blyth, which sells candles and home fragrance products under the PartyLite brand, was expected to be a big beneficiary from the offering. "ViSalus has achieved net sales growth in excess of 450 percent in the first half of 2012; however, management believes that current market conditions are not conducive to recognizing this level of achievement," Blyth said in a statement. ViSalus, founded in 2005, sells weight management products, nutritional supplements and energy drinks in the United States through independent distributors. It earned $24.5 million in the six months ended June 30, 2012 on net sales of $327.3 million. It was looking to list its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq under the symbol "VI". Jefferies was underwriting the offering. (Reporting by Aman Shah in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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