Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal counsel to The Vitamin Shoppe and BofA Merrill Lynch acted as its financial advisor. Troutman Sanders LLP acted as legal counsel to Liberty Tax, and B. Riley Financial acted as a financial advisor to Liberty Tax.
About Liberty Tax, Inc.
Liberty Tax, Inc. (OTC PINK: TAXA) is the indirect parent company of Liberty Tax Service and Buddy’s Home Furnishings. In the U.S. and Canada, last year, Liberty Tax prepared approximately two million individual income tax returns in more than 3,100 offices and online. Liberty Tax also owns Buddy’s Home Furnishings, a specialty retailer engaged in the business of leasing and selling consumer electronics, residential furniture, appliances and household accessories. Liberty Tax is focused on the evaluation and acquisition of franchise-oriented or complementary businesses. Liberty Tax also supports local communities with fundraising endeavors and contributes as a national sponsor to many charitable causes.
About The Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. (NYSE:VSI)
The Vitamin Shoppe is an omni-channel, specialty retailer of nutritional products based in Secaucus, New Jersey. In its stores and on its website, The Vitamin Shoppe carries a comprehensive retail assortment including: vitamins, minerals, specialty supplements, herbs, sports nutrition, homeopathic remedies, green living products, and beauty aids. In addition to offering products from approximately 700 national brands, The Vitamin Shoppe also carries products under The Vitamin Shoppe®, BodyTech®, Body Tech Elite®, True Athlete®, plnt®, ProBioCare®, and Next Step®brands. The Vitamin Shoppe conducts business through more than 750 company-operated retail stores under The Vitamin Shoppe and Super Supplements retail banners, and through its website, www.vitaminshoppe.com. Follow the Vitamin Shoppe on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/THEVITAMINSHOPPE and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/VitaminShoppe.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including, without limitation, those that contain, or are identified by, words such as “outlook”, “guidance”, “believes”, “expects”, “potential”, “continues”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “predicts”, “intends”, “plans”, “estimates”, “anticipates”, “could” or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the proposed transaction between The Vitamin Shoppe and Liberty Tax. These statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of the control of The Vitamin Shoppe and Liberty Tax, including, among others, the risk that the proposed transaction may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, which may adversely affect the business and the stock price of The Vitamin Shoppe and/or Liberty Tax; risks related to the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement; the failure to obtain the requisite approval of The Vitamin Shoppe stockholders of the proposed transaction or required regulatory approvals or the failure to satisfy any of the other conditions to the completion of the proposed transaction; the effect of the announcement or pendency of the proposed transaction on the ability of The Vitamin Shoppe or Liberty Tax to retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with its customers, suppliers, partners and others
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