Blyth Crushed After Withdrawing ViSalus IPO

Blyth Inc. (NYSE: BTH) is a direct-to-consumer market outfit and its shares are getting slapped down hard this morning. The company has issued news that its ViSalus subsidiary has filed to withdraw its initial public offering. The ViSalus unit is a dietary unit and Blyth said that the withdrawn IPO was due to market conditions.

This sounds a bit odd because the claim is that sales have grown 450% in the first half of 2012 and it still said, “management believes that current market conditions are not conducive to recognizing this level of achievement.”

Blyth management also was said to fully support the decision to hold off.

As far as what markets the parent company is in, these are home fragrance products, decorative accessories, weight management products, nutritional supplements and energy drink mixes. The company also sells household convenience items, personalized gifts, tabletop lighting and chafing fuel for the food service industry.

The delay is crushing shares because it sends the message that there is an interruption in the business growth. Shares are down 23% at $25.00 after a $32.57 close on Tuesday and the 52-week trading range is $25.62 to $46.15.

JON C. OGG