Private equity circles company at center of contamination controversy

Zoom in: The company sold cholesterol-lowering supplements containing red yeast rice, but another fungus was mistakenly introduced during the fermentation process.

• Kobayashi has denied that any deaths were directly caused by its products, but has made settlement payments and had a founding family member resign as company president.

Go deeper, via Bloomberg: "By going private, the maker of everything from eye drops and skin creams to air fresheners and cotton balls would have a chance to revamp quality controls and deal with rising raw-material costs."