A nephew of Morinda's original founder has quietly purchased the bankrupt NewAge corporation and its MLM subsidiaries Noni by NewAge and Ariix, raising fresh questions about family control within the struggling multilevel marketing industry.
NewAge filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 30th and immediately signed an Asset Purchase Agreement with DIP Financing LLC, a Wyoming shell company operating out of a Puerto Rico mailbox. The sole representative listed on the agreement was John Wadsworth—initially believed to be John J. Wadsworth, one of Morinda's co-founders dating back to 1996.
Court filings on September 20th revealed the actual buyer was John R. Wadsworth, John J. Wadsworth's nephew. The disclosure came in response to objections questioning whether Wadsworth played any role in NewAge's collapse.
John R. Wadsworth claims he's been nothing more than a distributor for both companies. In his court statement, he insisted he had never worked as an employee, officer, director or significant shareholder of NewAge, except for a summer job at Morinda in 1997 while in college. He holds less than 0.4% of NewAge's outstanding shares.
Yet Wadsworth is far from the only family member involved. His uncle is John J. Wadsworth. His brother, B. Joseph Wadsworth, serves as an area president for NewAge overseeing North Asia operations, with sources confirming he already runs NewAge's Japan division.
When asked whether his family connections gave him an unfair advantage in acquiring NewAge, John R. Wadsworth deflected. He said his brother mentioned the company's financial troubles on August 17th and suggested he contact Joe Ebb at Houlihan Lokey Capital, the investment firm handling the sale. After a single phone call, Wadsworth signed a nondisclosure agreement and received the same information offered to other potential buyers.
"Other than suggesting I call Houlihan, no family member shared any information with me about NewAge's challenges," Wadsworth stated in court documents.
Wadsworth also denied he contributed to the company's downfall, claiming his independent distributor sales were actually growing. He says he learned nothing about the bankruptcy until his brother tipped him off just weeks before it was filed.
The timing raises eyebrows in an industry already scrutinized for lack of transparency. NewAge collapsed rapidly enough that a distributor with minimal formal ties to the company managed to acquire it within hours of the bankruptcy filing. Whether Wadsworth's family connections to both Morinda and NewAge's upper management constituted an information advantage remains unclear—and apparently, legally unquestioned by the bankruptcy court that approved the sale.
🤖 Quick Answer
Who purchased NewAge corporation after its bankruptcy filing?John R. Wadsworth, nephew of Morinda co-founder John J. Wadsworth, acquired NewAge and its MLM subsidiaries Noni by NewAge and Ariix through DIP Financing LLC, a Wyoming shell company, following the corporation's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in August.
Why did the identity of NewAge's buyer remain unclear initially?
The Asset Purchase Agreement listed "John Wadsworth" as sole representative without distinguishing between John J. Wadsworth, Morinda's original co-founder, and John R. Wadsworth, his nephew, creating confusion about the actual purchaser's identity.
What concerns does this acquisition raise within the MLM industry?
The purchase by a family member of Morinda's founder raises questions regarding concentrated family control within the multilevel marketing sector and potential conflicts of interest in corporate restructuring
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