MusclePharm


MusclePharm Corporation is an American nutritional supplement company founded in 2010 and headquartered in Burbank, California.

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.
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 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 Corp. announced plans to buy back $5 million of all common stock in December 2013. 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 January 2014, MusclePharm acquired BioZone Laboratories, 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. MusclePharm sold Biozone to Valencia, CA-based Flavor Producers for $9.8 million in April 2016.
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 $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.
MusclePharm was sued in a California federal court in late January 2015, for misleading customers about the amount of protein their products contain.
In March 2015, MusclePharm signed a development and manufacturing supply agreement with Capstone Nutrition and purchased a 20% interest in Capstone's parent company.
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 alleged that MusclePharm has breached the parties' manufacturing contract and is seeking $65 million in damages.
In 2018, MusclePharm announced that it was relocating its headquarters from Denver, CO to Burbank, CA as part of a restructuring deal.

Ownership

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

Sponsorship agreements

MusclePharm has entered into endorsement deals with various athletes and sporting organizations. The company signed
NFL San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl quarterback, Colin Kaepernick as a brand representative in 2013. In 2014 MusclePharm signed endorsement deals with USA Wrestling, and golfer Tiger Woods. Some of the companies other paid endorsers have included NFL players Patrick Willis and Chris Johnson; the UFC and mixed martial artists Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida Jake Shields, Patrick Barry, and Robbie Lawler; MLB player Bryce Harper; and bodybuilder Obi Obadike
MusclePharm signed a two-year agreement in 2015 with United World Wrestling to provide products for athletes affiliated with the organization. The company entered into an agreement that year with the Cleveland Cavaliers to serve as the team's presenting partner for "Fourth Quarter Combat Crunch Time", based on the Combat Crunch protein bar. MusclePharm also signed a multi-year sponsorship agreement in 2015 with City Football Group, a holding company for Manchester City Football Club, Melbourne City Football Club, New York City Football Club, and Yokohama F. Marinos.