Contact Information: Contact: Amerifit Cyrill Siewert Chief Executive Officer 800-990-3476 Charterhouse Group David Hoffman 212-584-3234 BGCP Melissa Daly or Elisa Marks Brunswick Group 212-333-3810
Amerifit Brands Welcomes Bear Growth Capital Partners as a New Investor
| Source: Bear Growth Capital Partners
HARTFORD, CT -- (MARKET WIRE) -- November 29, 2006 -- Amerifit Brands, Inc. ("Amerifit"), a
portfolio company of Charterhouse Group, Inc., announced that Bear Growth
Capital Partners, LLC ("BGCP"), a subsidiary of Bear Stearns Inc., has made
a $15.0 million growth equity investment in the Company.
Cyrill Siewert, Amerifit's CEO, stated, "We are delighted to welcome Bear
Growth Capital as a new investor in our company. They have made several
key investments in the wellness category and have strong brand experience
in this area. We believe that their team provides us with resources,
knowledge and relationships that can help accelerate the execution of our
strategy. This investment also increases our equity base, which will allow
us to continue to be aggressive acquirers of brands that fit our strategy."
"We look forward to working with Amerifit's management team and
Charterhouse Group to support the Company in achieving its growth plans
going forward. Amerifit has already built a portfolio of strong consumer
brands and we are optimistic about the prospects for the future," said Joe
Scharfenberger, Managing Director of BGCP.
Amerifit Brands, Inc. is a leading consumer health and wellness products
company. Amerifit's principal areas of focus include women's health and
gastrointestinal health. Within women's wellness, Amerifit's key brands
are Estroven®, the leading all natural supplement line addressing
symptoms of hormone change in adult women, and AZO, the leading OTC brand
of products addressing the prevention and treatment of urinary tract
infections. Within gastrointestinal health, Amerifit's key brand is
Culturelle®, the leading probiotic nutritional supplement in the U.S.
For more information on Amerift, please visit www.amerifit.com.
Charterhouse Group, Inc. is a private equity firm with over three decades
of experience in building leading middle-market companies. Established in
1973, Charterhouse has invested more than $2.0 billion of equity into over
100 platform companies. Charterhouse focuses on making investments in the
Business Services, Healthcare Services and Consumer Products and Services
sectors. For more information on Charterhouse, please visit
www.charterhousegroup.com.
BGCP is an affiliate of Bear Stearns Merchant Banking, the private equity
arm of The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. (NYSE : BSC ). BGCP focuses on
making investments in middle market companies valued between $25 and $150
million. BGCP invests in compelling growth capital opportunities,
traditional buyouts, recapitalizations, co-investments, and control and
minority ownership positions alongside superior management teams and other
private equity sponsors. More information about BGCP can be found at
www.bsmb.com.