ViSalus Files for $175M I.P.O.

ViSalus Inc., which sells weight management products, filed with U.S. regulators on Thursday to raise up to $175 million in an initial public offering. The Troy, Michigan-based company told the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission in a preliminary prospectus that it will offer Class A common stock, which will be underwritten by Jefferies. ViSalus is backed by candle maker Blyth Inc. and private equity firm Ropart Investments LLC.

(Reuters) – ViSalus Inc, which sells weight management products, filed with U.S. regulators on Thursday to raise up to $175 million in an initial public offering.

The Troy, Michigan-based company told the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission in a preliminary prospectus that it will offer Class A common stock, which will be underwritten by Jefferies.

The company, founded in 2005, sells nutritional supplements and energy drinks in the United States through independent distributors.

ViSalus is backed by candle maker Blyth Inc and private equity firm Ropart Investments LLC.

ViSalus earned $24.5 million in the six months ended June 30, 2012 on net sales of $327.3 million.

The company said in the filing that the offering is a part of a series of reorganization transactions that will be consummated before the closing of the offering.

The filing did not reveal how many shares the company planned to sell or their expected price. The company also did not disclose the ticker symbol and exchange it planned to list its shares on.

The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different.