This Is What Happens When Oprah Winfrey Endorses Anything…

However, if Winfrey buys 15 percent of the company’s shares, she will be counted among the second-largest shareholder following investment firm Invus Public Equities Advisors LLC that owns 51.5 percent stake. It is also believed that the company’s weight loss tools have provided promising results for the American host, which prompted her to advocate the brand for other potential customers too.

“Weight Watchers and Oprah Winfrey make a powerful combination”, said Ray Debbane, chairman of the company’s board.

“Like millions of women, it’s been the battle of my life”, she said of her weight in one of the flashback clips from her former talk show.

“We’re not going to be zeroing in on how much weight Oprah Winfrey is losing every single week”, Mark said. Oprah Winfrey thinks she can help turn the company around.

This video includes images from Getty Images.

Weight Watchers share price has plummeted by more than 70% this year as it tried to compete with a range of free online programmes, and new fitness trends which put less emphasis on calorie counting.

In five years she would have the right to sell all of her shares.

Oprah Winfrey, the billionaire media mogul, bought 10% of Weight Watchers worldwide in order to save the long-running weight-loss program.

“We’re thrilled to share a few big news today- Oprah Winfrey has joined our Board and is a part owner of Weight Watchers!”.

Chief Executive Jim Chambers said Weight Watchers, founded in 1963, is expanding its focus from weight loss to more broadly helping people lead a healthier lifestyle.

While her single-day earnings may be a giant sum to most, according to Forbes, it’s not much compared to her estimated worth of $3 billion.

A few of us keep unflattering pictures of ourselves on the fridge as an incentive to lose weight. The shares rose more than 40 percent in pre-market trading. Sales were down 22% and profits almost 50% in the first half of this year. Weight Watchers’ core program has suffered as dieters show increasing preference for using smartphone applications as opposed to attending group meetings.