Herbalife To Move Corporate Headquarters

Herbalife Ltd.  today announced that it will relocate its corporate headquarters from Century City to the L.A. Live sports and entertainment district now under construction in downtown Los Angeles.

L.A. Live is the highly anticipated, four-million square foot development adjacent to Staples Center and across the street from the Los Angeles Convention Center. It will feature a mix of entertainment venues, restaurants, office and residential spaces, television and radio broadcast studios, concert spaces and hotels.

“Herbalife’s corporate headquarters at L.A. Live is going to be a visible expression of our culture and brand,” said Michael O. Johnson, chief executive officer of Herbalife. “We’re a dynamic company actively involved in the fitness and sports culture. We have over 1.5 million independent distributors around the world who think of Los Angeles as the most exciting city in the U.S. —and we’re going to be in the most exciting place in L.A.”

“Stimulated economic activity along with continuous growth has transformed downtown Los Angeles into Southern California’s hub for travel, tourism and business development,” said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. “A company such as Herbalife is a significant private investment we are proud to have as part of the L.A. Live complex. Adding Herbalife will bring new life to what will be L.A.’s liveliest area.”

Herbalife has signed a 10-year lease agreement with AEG, the developers of L.A. Live and owners of the adjacent Staples Center. The move is expected to take place in early 2008 when construction is expected to be completed. Herbalife will occupy 60,000 square feet of office space in a five-story building within the L.A. Live complex. Herbalife’s new headquarters will include major signage atop the building in the L.A. Live site that will be visible to millions of visitors, sports enthusiasts and workers in downtown Los Angeles.

“Our corporate relocation demonstrates Herbalife’s commitment to the Los Angeles business community,” said Johnson. “We make our communities better places to live and work” is one of our corporate values. With this move, we are making a commitment to Los Angeles and, by example, we encourage others to do the same.”

“I am proud to welcome Herbalife to Downtown Los Angeles. This announcement represents yet another investment in the long-term development of our city’s core,” said Councilwoman Jan Perry who represents the Ninth District which includes Downtown Los Angeles.