Oprah Buys 10 Per Cent Stake In Weight Watchers, Stock Soars

Weight Watchers is attempting to woo back former clients who focused on calorie counting but are more interested now in pursuing today’s trend of health and wellness that encompasses everything from eating natural ingredients to high protein foods. She said she believes in the program so much that she had chose to invest in the company and partner in its evolution.

She can’t sell any Weight Watchers stock for the first two years, according to deal terms filed with the SEC. “Sounds kind of sick now, I know”, Winfrey said in 2011. She will also receive options to buy additional 5% of the fully diluted shares of Weight Watchers.

Oprah is going on a diet again, and it’s worth a lot of money to her and Weight Watchers.

“We are expanding our objective from focusing on weight loss alone to more broadly helping people lead a healthier, happier life”, said President and CEO Jim Chambers.

Weight Watchers is controlled by Artal Luxembourg, the investment arm of a European family that bought the business from H.J. Heinz in 1999.

After the company announced its partnership with Winfrey Monday, its stocks doubled, “with more than 57 million shares changing hands on USA exchanges, the busiest trading day in the company’s history”, Reuters said. What if she doesn’t lose weight on Weight Watchers? In return, she has agreed to make appearances on the company’s behalf and let it use her name and image.

She runs the cable network OWN, which she created in a joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc.

An April 2015 review of studies testing out weight-control programs concluded that people who joined Weight Watchers for 12 months showed a 2.6 percent increase in weight lost compared to a control group.

In exchange, Ms. Winfrey has the right to use Weight Watchers marks to collaborate with and promote the company, its programs, products and services, according to the report. In 2014, about 800,000 people attended Weight Watchers meetings, which was a decrease from the 1.3 million people in 2011. The television mogul, author and actress is known for spotting talent and setting trends – books chosen for her Oprah‘s Book Club regularly end up on best-seller lists.