Tivity to buy weight loss program manager Nutrisystem

Tivity Health executives have agreed to pay about $1.4 billion in cash and stock for Nutrisystem, the company that runs nutrition programs under that brand as well as the South Beach Diet.

Tivity CEO Donato Tramuto and his team expect to close early next year on their acquisition of Pennsylvania-based Nutrisystem. The deal will pair nutrition services with Franklin-based Tivity's fitness and wellness offerings and grow the company's top line to about $1.3 billion annually. In the 12 months ended Sept. 30, Tivity earned nearly $80 million while Nutrisystem posted profits of about $56 million. The latter's operating margin in 2018 has been 10.0 percent while Tivity's has topped 22 percent.