GNC Reported To Be Courted By Chinese Buyers

Chinese companies are keen to take advantage of the increasing attention towards vitamin and dietary-supplementary market. As a result, some of the companies are showing interest in GNC Holdings Inc GNC, a specialty retailer focused on health and wellness products.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, GNC has recently met with prospective buyers from China. The current market cap of the company is about $1.4 billion and has an estimated debt of close to $1.6 billion. Including the debt, the possible deal could be valued at about $4 billion.

Companies' interest in health and wellness products is quite evident from the estimation provided by Euromonitor International Ltd. The firm expects the market for vitamins and dietary supplement to record a 53 percent jump to $28.7 billion in 2021. Chinese firms are showing more interest in Western brands as the people are losing confidence in the local brands following the scandals.

Fosun Group and ZZ Capital International Ltd. have reportedly shown interest in GNC Holdings. Several pharmaceutical firms have also indicated their interest,  although it's not clear that such move could lead to the striking of the deal.

Following the report, the stock traded up more than 8 percent to at $20.99.