Vitamin Shoppe Industries, North Ber­gen, NJ, (d/b/a The Vitamin Shoppe) has been sold to an affiliate of Bear Sterns Merchant Banking, New York, NY. FdG Associates, New York, NY, a private investment firm providing equity capital to North American-based middle market growth companies, together with The Vitamin Shoppe’s founder and CEO, Jeffrey Horowitz, and president and COO, Thomas Tolworthy, will retain an equity interest in the company.