Numico Agrees to Sell GNC Chain

Dutch food group Numico said Friday it had agreed to sell its GNC chain stores to buyout fund Apollo Management for $750 million, beating a retreat from a costly foray into the U.S. health supplements market.

Europe’s largest maker of baby formula, which paid $1.8 billion for the largest U.S. retailer of vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements in 1999, said it would use the proceeds to slash its looming debt pile.

Apollo, a $13-billion buyout fund founded by financier Leon Black and based in Los Angeles and New York, won an auction for the Pittsburgh-based business after vying with several other U.S. private equity shops in recent months.