Herbalife is close to reaching a settlement with five former distributors who claim the controversial nutritional products company is running a pyramid scheme that has victimized thousands.
Lawyers for both sides told California federal judge Beverly O’Connell last month that “the parties have tentatively agreed on the principal terms of a settlement,” according to court papers.
The parties asked for an extension of several pretrial filing dates, saying they needed more time to finalize a deal.
The suit was brought by California resident Dana Bostick in April 2013, less than four months after hedge fund activist Bill Ackman called Herbalife a fraud and placed a $1 billion short bet on the shares.
In June, four new plaintiffs joined the proposed class-action suit against the Los Angeles company.
Both sides declined to comment on the talks or the amount of the potential settlement under discussion.
Herbalife, which is under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission and other regulators, has denied the allegations and earlier said the suit had no merit.
But it now appears willing to accept a class-wide settlement to put a cap on its liability, sources told The Post.
The class would cover about 1.5 million people — those who joined in the US after 2009 to the present, excluding
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Herbalife’s Expansion Into Canada
by Tina Williams • • 0 Comments
Herbalife Ltd. (HLF) announced yesterday that it will launch its performance nutrition line, Herbalife24™, in Canada. The comprehensive nutrition package is designed to cater to the daily nutrition needs of athletes. The company has also partnered with the non-profit organization, Common Threads, to target younger age groups in the US as well.
The company’s increased focus on product innovation and relationship building efforts with its target market shows it will continue to expand its operations in the future, disregarding any accusations of it being a pyramid scheme. Products targeted at athletes might turn out to be a significant growth driver for Herbalife in the future.
Herbalife24 is a comprehensive performance-nutrition package, which consists of five products that let consumers modify their nutrition plan to meet their training demands and their daily nutrition needs according to the sport they play. All products in the package have been certified by the Public Health and Safety Organization, NSF International Inc.
Each product was tested to make sure that it contains no banned substances. This certification adds credibility to the products, as athletes need to be assured that the ingredients used are legal and safe. These products do not contain any sweeteners or artificial flavors.
Herbalife realized
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Herbalife To Provide Nutrition Curriculum In Schools Across US
by Tina Williams • • 0 Comments
Herbalife HLF, a leading global nutrition company, announced a long-term partnership with national non-profit organization, Common Threads, to sponsor nutrition programs in elementary and middle schools across the country. The program gives students in over 135 schools in Illinois, Washington, D.C., California and Florida access to nutrition and cooking skills curricula.
“Herbalife is excited to sponsor nutritional programs to help students in these cities improve their understanding of the importance of eating healthy,” said Angela Arboleda, Herbalife vice president of government and community affairs. “It is critical to equip our nation’s young people with the building blocks for healthy living, especially those who do not have access to the resources and information at home. Programs like Common Threads are important for helping children establish healthy eating habits. We look forward to building upon our company’s deep commitment to helping people live healthy, active lifestyles through this long-term partnership.”
The program is geared towards students who do not otherwise have access to well-balanced dietary options in their community or at home. The schools selected for the program are located in neighborhoods across the country that do not have access to fresh produce and other nutritious ingredients. One of the criteria for school selection is that
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Hall Of Fame MLM Celebrities – How To Handle The Pyramid Myth Objection
by Ted Nuyten • • 0 Comments
These are the celebrities, spokesmen and women, famous supporters and endorsers of the Direct Selling – Network Marketing – MLM Industry.
These are the individuals who believe in the products and the Business Model – celebrities who approve and encourage the MLM, Network Marketing and Direct Selling industry. They speak at events and conventions. They are associated with pride.
They are very successful individuals who do not understand why some people have ‘pyramid objections’. Investors such as; Warren Buffett (Pampered Chef), billionaires like Carl Icahn, George Soros and William Stiritz who invested hundreds of millions (Herbalife), and Vincent Tan (Epic, Ecosway).
Former President of the United States Bill Clinton who has thanked the Direct Selling industry in a speech, Dr. Memhet Oz (USANA, Vemma), Donald Trump (ACN) and Madeleine Albright (Amway), who have been keynote speakers at conventions and many more.
Just about any product or service can be purchased through direct selling somewhere in the world.
Many people think of cosmetics, wellness products and home décor as products that are often sold through direct sales, but add to that countless other product categories including kitchen products, jewelry, clothing, organic gardening supplies, spa products, scrapbooking supplies, rubber stamps and much, much more.
President Clinton making remarks for
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Reuters Reports On Herbalife, Says Ackman’s Attacks Fails To Resonate In Nutrition Clubs
by Tina Williams • • 0 Comments
The following article reported by Reuters recently shares the Ackman vs Herbalife fiasco in a rather objective manner. Ultimately, his claims aren’t resonating with Herbalife members or nutritional club owners.
New York hedge fund manager William Ackman says Herbalife is a pyramid scheme that exploits the poor. He has taken a $1 billion bet against the company’s stock and spent millions on research to attack the nutritional supplements seller, including making a video showing former distributors who claim they were deceived and lost money trying to sell its products.
Yet a visit to some of the clubs that have been set up to dispense the company’s shakes, teas and other items, largely to the Hispanic community in the U.S., shows that it has fans. These are consumers who stress their health has improved and distributors who are thankful to have the opportunity to run their own businesses.
In conversations at 10 such clubs that Reuters reporters visited in recent weeks in the Los Angeles area, New York and Newark, New Jersey, more than 20 people said they had lost a substantial amount of weight while consuming Herbalife products. These claims could not be verified by Reuters but if true the comments cast a favorable light on
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5 Things Herbalife Wants You To Know
by Tina Williams • • 0 Comments
Over the past two years, shares of multi-level marketing giant Herbalife have been immensely volatile, largely due to the activities of activist hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who has been waging an aggressive campaign against Herbalife’s management, accusing the company of fraud.
At times, his accusations have prompted sharp sell-offs, but more recently, the focus seems to have shifted to Herbalife’s earnings. Last month, shares of Herbalife tumbled after its earnings report came in short of analysts’ expectations.
Management remains confident in its business, and in a subsequent earnings call, pointed out a number of factors investors should be aware of. Below are five of the most important quotes from Herbalife’s most recent earnings call, courtesy of S&P Capital IQ .
The market for its products is growing
Herbalife’s products are, broadly speaking, aimed at helping to facilitate weight loss. A meal replacement shake, Formula 1, is the cornerstone of its portfolio, while it also offers supplements such as metabolism-boosting tea and multivitamins.
So long as global obesity rates remain elevated, Herbalife’s management believes the market for its products is large. Citing a recent study, the company’s CEO Michael Johnson quantified the opportunity for Herbalife.
The Harvard School of Public Health estimates that the worldwide rate of obesity has nearly
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Ackman Prepares To Extend Bet Against Herbalife
by Tina Williams • • 0 Comments
Bill Ackman, the hedge-fund manager who has mounted a two-year campaign to prove Herbalife Ltd. (HLF) is a pyramid scheme, will extend his bet against the company should he need to.
The cost of maintaining a position in options that profit from a drop in Herbalife shares has declined “substantially” since Herbalife canceled its dividend, Ackman said in his quarterly letter to investors dated today. Most of the over-the-counter contracts Pershing currently holds will expire next year.
“We will extend their terms by paying additional premiums if it is necessary to do so,” Ackman wrote in the letter, which was obtained by Bloomberg News.
Ackman has bet $1 billion against Herbalife and mounted a campaign that was capped by a more than three-hour presentation on July 22 purporting to show that the company is an Enron-style fraud. Investors brushed off his arguments, sending the stock up 25 percent in one day.
Today’s letter also acknowledged that the lengthy presentation and the hype he generated ahead of it were missteps. Herbalife shares, which have since tumbled after the company’s earnings missed projections later in July, are down almost 20 percent in the past year.
Originally reported by Bloomberg
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New Moves Are Proving The Herbalife Business Model To Be Widely Accepted
by Tina Williams • • 0 Comments
According to Bidnessetc.com, recent moves are proving the Herbalife Business model to be widely accepted.
Herbalife Ltd. (HLF) stock is up 4% today, and has gained roughly 7% since Bidness Etc asked investors to go long last week. The rise today, followed the news of Capital Research increasing its stake in the company and a number of insiders taking long positions in the stock. These moves have improved investor sentiment, leading to a rise in the stock. In addition, the company’s long term prospects remain strong and Bidness Etc rates the stock a Buy at current valuations.
According to recent news, Capital Research has increased its stake in the company from 8.5% to 10.1%, joining the league of investors like Carl Icahn and Fidelity Investments, both of whom have stakes larger than 10%. After increasing its stake, Capital Research has become the third-largest shareholder in the company.
The continuing confidence of Carl Icahn and now this move by Capital Research reflects their belief that Herbalife is not a pyramid scheme and that investigations by Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are not expected cause any significant damage to the company’s reputation.
In addition, a number of insiders including Chief Operating Officer Richard Goudis, President Des Walsh, and Chief Financial Officer Desimone, have
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Herbalife Expanding It’s China Facilities
by Tina Williams • • 0 Comments
Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE:HLF), a leading global nutrition company, today announced plans to expand its manufacturing capabilities inChina, as it looks to increase its capacity in line with anticipated growth in this strategically important market. This would add to Herbalife’s existing manufacturing facilities in Suzhou, and its botanical extraction plant in Changsha.
Herbalife has identified an existing, newly built facility in Jiangning High-tech Industry Park (JHIP), Nanjing as the location for its newest manufacturing facility, due to the unique environment it provides for companies operating in the life science industries, as well as the relative speed to operation in having only to renovate an existing facility.
JHIP brings together companies from across the entire industry – research and development; incubation; small- and large-scale manufacturing; and marketing – to create and foster innovation and intellectual collaboration. Herbalife will invest up to $40MM USD in a first phase of development, to bring the facility up to the highest operating standards.
This first phase is expected to be complete and the facility operational by the end of 2015, with the potential for a second phase of development, given the size and flexibility of the facility. This new facility will ultimately provide up to 65% of the company’s total product requirements in China.
Richard Goudis, chief operating officer, Herbalife said, “We are
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Herbalife Executives Buy $1.7 Million In Shares
by Tina Williams • • 0 Comments
Insiders at Herbalife threw their hats into the ring of the media circus surrounding the multi-level marketing firm.
Three Herbalife top executives bought 30,700 shares for $1,709,467, an average of $55.68 each, on July 31.
Chief Financial Officer John DeSimone bought 10,000 Herbalife (ticker: HLF ) shares for $555,600. He now holds a direct stake of 28,690 shares. DeSimone’s most recent previous transaction was on April 16, 2012, when he exercised options and sold 31,700 shares for $2.7 million, an average of $70.50 each, through a 10b5-1 plan.
Chief Operating Officer Richard Goudis bought 10,700 shares for $597,167. He now holds a direct stake of 166,969 shares. Goudis’ most recent previous transaction was on Nov. 29, 2012, when he bought 180,100 shares for $2 million, an average of $43.89 each.
Finally, President Desmond Walsh bought 10,000 shares for $556,700. He now holds a direct stake of 107,599 shares. Walsh’s most recent previous transaction was on April 3, 2012, when he exercised options and sold 125,500 shares for $5 million, an average of $69.44 each through a 10b5-1 plan.
All the executives hold stakes of less than 1% in Herbalife.
Walsh and Goudis joined Herbalife in 2004. DeSimone joined in 2007.
Herbalife did not respond to a phone call seeking