NBTY shareholders approve sale to equity group

Stockholders of the vitamin maker NBTY Inc. have given their OK for the sale of the Ronkonkoma company to a private equity firm.

The shareholder vote in favor of the sale was tallied at 79.6 percent of a total of more than 50 million shares outstanding, NBTY said.

"Following the approval of the proposal to adopt the merger agreement by NBTY's stockholders, all conditions to the closing of the merger set forth in the merger agreement have been satisfied" other than formalities to take place at the closing, the company said.

The sale could be completed as soon as the beginning of October, NBTY said.

NBTY Inc., one of Long Island's largest employers, in July agreed to be acquired for $3.8 billion by the Carlyle Group, a private investment fund based in Washington, D.C.

It makes such well-known brands as Nature's Bounty, MET-Rx and Solgar nutritional supplements. It has about 2,000 employees on Long Island and about 14,000 worldwide.

The company is the Island's sixth-largest in terms of sales, with revenue of $2.6 billion in its last fiscal year.

The deal amounts to $55 a share for investors, a 47 percent premium over the company's closing price on the day of the sale.