MusclePharm

History

MusclePharm Corporation was incorporated on August 4, 2006. On February 18, 2010, the company acquired Muscle Pharm, LLC, and as a result, MusclePharm became a wholly owned subsidiary.

Acquisitions

In January 2014, MusclePharm acquired BioZone Pharmaceuticals, which included its facility in Richmond, California. This acquisition included BioZone's QuSomes, HyperSorb and EquaSome technologies, as well as various lines of products including the Arnold Schwarzenegger series in 2013. The acquisition was finalized in late 2013.

Finance

MusclePharm Corp. announced plans to buy back $5 million of all common stock in December 2013. Repurchases under MusclePharm's new program will be made in open market or privately negotiated transactions in compliance with Rules 10b5-1 and 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, subject to market conditions, applicable legal requirements, and other relevant factors. This share repurchase plan does not obligate the Company to acquire any particular amount of common stock, and it may be suspended at any time at the Company's discretion.

In 2013 MusclePharm Corporation completed a $12 million registered direct offering of its Series D Convertible Preferred Stock. The Frost Group, LLC, headed by Miami entrepreneur, billionaire, Phillip Frost, was the lead investor in the offering and elected to increase its previously announced investment in the offering to a total of $2.9 million.

In September 2014, MusclePharm entered into a revolving credit facility with Amarillo National Bank for $8 million.

By the end of 2014, MusclePharm reported a $67 million net revenue earning. Net sales in the fourth-quarter alone were in excess of $32 million.

In August 2015 it was reported that MusclePharm had earned a record $50.5 Million by the end of second quarter 2015, which is an 8% increase compared to 2014. They also announced their plans to restructure in order to save an excess of $20 million on an annual basis starting in 2016.

Ownership

MusclePharm is a publicly traded company sold as ticker symbol MSLP. As of July 2014, MusclePharm has nearly 12 million shares outstanding. Some of the largest shareholders include: Phillip Frost, Wynfield Capital, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and CEO & founder Bradley J Pyatt.

MusclePharm's revenues are likely to exceed $165 million with an earnings per share of around $0.41 - $0.51 per diluted share for 2014

In 2015, MusclePharm announced their plans to expand their Board of Directors to seven seats. During this announcement, they also revealed their governance structure will separate the Chairman and CEO roles by the end of 2015.

In June 2015, it was announced that developer of Body For Life fitness and nutrition program, Bill Phillips, would join MusclePharm’s team as the Strategic Adviser and Chief Editor. It was also announced that health and wellness expert, Ryan Drexler, would join MusclePharms board of directors.

Partnerships

Since their launch in 2010, MusclePharm has partnered with several companies, which have contributed to their success.

MusclePharm certifies that all of their supplements are free of banned substances such as anabolic steroids. Every product and every batch from MusclePharm is tested and certified by Informed Choice before being sold in the market.

MusclePharm Corporation pairs with Ugam to provide Brand Intelligence solution to help protect its margins, brand reputation and channel relationships.

In 2015, MusclePharm signed a supply agreement with Capstone Nutrition to purchase 19.9% of INI, INI Parent, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“INI”), and the parent company of Capstone, on a fully diluted basis. This agreement allows MusclePharm to have access to Capstone's development and manufacturing services in lieu with other benefits. Capstone is one of the largest pure-play developers and manufacturers in the nutrition industry.

In April 2015, United World Wrestling announced the launch of a two-year partnership with MusclePharm. MusclePharm products will be exclusively provided to athletes affiliated with the UWW community. Following the partnership with the United World Wrestling, the Cleveland Cavaliers announced their partnership with MusclePharm to act as their presenting partner during their "Fourth Quarter Combat Crunch Time", using their Combat Crunch protein bar.

In April 2015, Musclepharm announced a partnership with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Gladiators (Arena Football League), the Lake Erie Monsters (American Hockey League) and the Canton Charge (Cavs NBA D-League affiliate).

In June 2015, MusclePharm launched a multi-year partnership with City Football Group, supporting Manchester City Football Club, Melbourne City Football Club, New York City Football Club, and Yokohama F. Marinos.

Branded products

MusclePharm Hybrid series was launched in 2008 with key products Assault, Combat Protein, and launched MusclePharm Core Series in 2011. This series of products help reenergize athletes safely by with ingredients such as amino acids, glutamine, BCAA’s,CLA Core and fish oil.

In February 2012, MusclePharm launched a new product line called "MMA Elite" in partnership with the UFC sponsor MMA Elite.

In September 2013 the company partnered with Eurpac Sports Products to sell their new Arnold Schwarzenegger Series. Arnold Schwarzenegger made an appearance with MusclePharm at Muscle Beach in Los Angeles, California for the launch. The products include: Iron Whey, Iron Mass, Iron Pump, Iron Pack, Iron Stack, Iron Dream, and Iron Cre3.

In November 2013 MusclePharm teamed with Walgreens to create an innovative brand specifically made for women. As part of the deal, FitMiss was stocked in 7,000 Walgreens stores nationwide. The products include FitMiss Delight, FitMiss Tone, FitMiss Burn, and Ready-to-Drink FitMiss Delight.

In March 2014, Worldwide Apparel, LLC began a licensing agreement with MusclePharm Apparel.

In September 2014, MusclePharm launched CocoProtein Sports Drink at the Mr. Olympia 2014 Expo in Las Vegas. This product will begin going on sale in October 2014. MusclePharm also launched, Combat Crunch, a branded protein bar.

In February 2014, MusclePharm announced that they'd launch two new energy drinks in April 2015. A preview for the new beverages were made at the Arnold Sports Festival, held in Columbus Ohio. MusclePharm also previewed a new nutrition bar called, the Arnold Schwarzenegger Muscle Bar at the festival. The muscle bar became available for purchase in April 2015. Energy Sport™ and Energy Sport Zero™ became available at select retailers in April 2015. Both energy drinks include MusclePharm's patented ingredient Carnosyn® Beta-Alanine.

In March 2015, MusclePharm introduced a new product line called the Hardcore Series. This series includes a pre-workout, post-workout, and energy boost beverages.

Musclepharm released a Black Label Series exclusively at GNC stores in April 2015 including a Combat Black Weight Gainer, Assault Black, Amino1 Black, and Creatine Black.

In June 2015, MusclePharm launched a new website that focuses on their products science, granting, and full transparency behind the companies initiatives. The new website provides consumers access to research and information about MusclePharm's products and their competitors.

Clinical studies

MusclePharm products have been tested and certified by various labs in the United States to ensure their product is safe and meets FDA regulations.

In 2010, former U.S. Assistant Surgeon General, Roscoe M. Moore, Jr., became the Chief Scientific Director at MusclePharm Corporation. Before MusclePharm, Moore worked with the FDA and United States Public Health Service.

MusclePharm went on the record in 2012, stating that they have never used DMAA (1,2-dimethylamylamine) in any of their products.

The United States Sports Academy did a clinical trial on MusclePharm’s Assault and found that the product is effective in helping athletes gain strength, endurance, energy, and other healthy, important qualities to help them compete. The Nutrition Research Journal went on the record saying that Assault is safe and effective pre-workout for recreationally active men. The trial with the USSA completed in January 2012.

In 2013, the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) and MusclePharm teamed up to offer unrestricted educational grants for those interested in conducting product-specific randomized clinical trials. Up to $40,000 in funding was available for this initiative.

A 2014 study published in Nutrition Journal reported the results of a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical study, which demonstrated that MusclePharm's Amino1, a recovery and hydration supplement, enhanced rehydration more effectively than water and Gatorade.

"The study showed that consuming both the amino acids and the electrolytes which are in the Amino1 product enhanced rehydration compared to water or Gatorade. The latter primarily containing sugars and electrolytes," MusclePharm Research Director Jordan Moon said. "As anticipated, water, Gatorade and Amino1 all rehydrated the subjects. However, Amino1 allowed the subjects to rehydrate faster and more efficiently. In the near future, more clinical data will be available that will show the recovery benefits athletes receive when taking Amino1."

Other results in the study prove that the amino acids in Amino1 help muscles recover from exercise, as well as prevent muscle breakdown during exercise, making Amino1 an ideal product for athletes.

In July 2015, it was announced that MusclePharm would join the Council for Responsible Nutrition's voting membership roster.

Community

Some of the world’s top athletes from: MLB, NFL, UFC, MMA, USA Wrestling, PGA Tour and other sports professionals have endorsed MusclePharm’s efforts to provide the top sports nutrition products. Celebrities and other public figures have also vocalized their support of MusclePharm.

MusclePharm partnered with NFL San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl quarterback, Colin Kaepernick as a brand representative in 2013. Kaepernick's advertisements appeared on several radio, television, and social media channels.

In March 2014, MusclePharm signed a deal with USA Wrestling, the national governing body for wrestling in the United States, as its exclusive official nutrition supplement provider. This endorsement debuted at the 2014 World Cup of Freestyle Wrestling in March 2014.

In July 2014, Tiger Woods became one of MusclePharm’s most well-known endorsers. MusclePharm logo will appear on Woods’ golf bag for the upcoming season. Woods also used a MusclePharm branded water bottle in his first PGA Tour start of 2015 for the Waste Management Phoenix Open, held January 29 through February 1, 2015.

In August 2014, NFL first-round draft pick Johnny Manziel became an endorser for MusclePharm.

Some of their brand ambassadors include:

Golf

Wrestling

Baseball

Fitness and bodybuilding

Celebrities

Awards and recognition

MusclePharm has been nominated for and received several highly esteemed awards in the sports nutrition industry.

Since 2009, they have won 14 BodyBuilding.com awards. MusclePharm’s former EVP of Marketing, Jeremy DeLuca, is the brother of the Bodybuilding.com CEO Ryan DeLuca.

In 2009, they won New Brand of the Year from BodyBuilding.com. Bodybuilding.com is an American online retailer of over 9,900 sports supplements and nutritional products.

In 2010, they were nominated for five of BodyBuilding.com supplement awards. They won Supplement Company of the Month in October 2010.

In 2011, MusclePharm was nominated for fourteen supplement awards from BodyBuilding.com. They won Breakout Brand of the Year, New Supplement of the Year for their product, Assault, and Best Packaging of the Year.

In 2011, MusclePharm was named No. 1 Supplement Brand by Stck3d. Rankings were based on "quality, price, results, availability and overall greatness," according to the website.

In 2012, they won Brand of the Year, Pre-Workout of the Year, and Packaging of the Year from BodyBuilding.com. They were nominated for 18 awards from them that year.

In 2012, Muscle Insider, Canada’s top bodybuilding magazine, nominated MusclePharm for Brand of the Year, Fat Burner of the Year (Shred Matrix), Pre-Workout Supplement of the Year (Assault), and Best Tasting Pre-Workout Supplement of the Year (Assault) Canadian Supplement Awards, where fans decide what are the top supplements in Canada.

In 2013, MusclePharm received the Top Vendor award from GNC.

In 2013 MusclePharm's Assault was named the best pre-workout product by fitness magazine Premio Revista Suplementacao. The magazine also named MusclePharm as the best supplement brand. MusclePharm Assault was also the recipient of a Top 30 Award from Corpo Perfeito, the largest online provider of nutritional supplements in Brazil.

Corpo Perfeito also honored the company for its sales performance.

Controversy and Legal Issues

MusclePharm has faced several legal issues related to its stock, intellectual property infringement, misleading customers, and accounting and disclosure violations.

In May 2012, Marina Ventures sought to force MusclePharm's sale of 21 million shares of common stock. Inter-Mountain Capital sued MusclePharm for alleged failure to sell, seeking damages of $4 million. In the same month, John's Lone Star Distribution alleged in a suit that MusclePharm entered into illegal price discrimination contracts with a Lone Star competitor with the intention of removing Lone Star from the market.

In 2011, Environmental Research Center (ERC) filed a notice of intent to start litigation against over 200 nutrition and supplement companies, including MusclePharm, alleging violations of California Proposition 65. In February 2012, ThermoLife claimed in a lawsuit that MusclePharm infringed ThermoLife's patent on amino acid compounds including creatine nitrate.

In September 2011, it was reported that MusclePharm's executive vice president, Leonard Armenta, had resigned after accusations from the MMA fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson that there was a spy in his camp in the lead up to UFC 135. Jackson accused his opponent Jon Jones of having a spy at his training camp in Denver, Colorado, in the buildup to the bout. In an interview with ESPN's SportsCenter, Jackson said MusclePharm released an employee named "Leonard" and accused him of acting as a spy for Jones.

In March 2012, NSF International notified the public that a MusclePharm product improperly bore the "NSF Certified for Sport" mark. In December 2013, NSF launched a lawsuit against MusclePharm and declared that MusclePharm is not authorized to use any NSF certification marks, to claim that any of its products are certified by NSF or to claim that they have been manufactured in an NSF GMP certified or registered facility.

In September 2012, The Tawnsaura Group sued MusclePharm for patent infringement.

In October 2012, MusclePharm discontinued use of BEAST Sports' trademarks including "Beast" and "Beast Mode" after MusclePharm’s unauthorized use.

MusclePharm was sued in a California federal court in late January 2015, for misleading customers about the amount of protein their products contain.

In September 2015, MusclePharm was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with infractions related to a number of accounting and disclosure violations. The investigation found that MusclePharm failed to report, or grossly misrepresented, approximately $500,000 in benefits paid to three current or former executives and chairmen The SEC also discovered that MusclePharm issued stock without a registration statement when it entered into numerous transactions with third parties that agreed in exchange for company shares to pay cash to MusclePharm vendors. MusclePharm owed vendors approximately $1.1 million in outstanding invoices and was short on funds to pay them.

On May 11 2016, protein supplement maker Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals sued MusclePharm for artificially inflating the level of protein in its Arnold Schwarzenegger Series Iron Mass product - claiming MusclePharm lied to consumers about the amount of actual protein in the product, violating federal competition and state consumer protection laws.

Later in May 2016 MusclePharm was sued by Capstone Nutrition for breach of contract. Capstone alleges that MusclePharm has breached the parties' manufacturing contract and is seeking $65 million in damages.