Glanbia PLC, an Ireland-based ingredient supplier to food and supplement companies, purchased U.S. sports nutrition company Optimum Nutrition for a reported $315 million. Optimum previously sold products under its signature Optimum Nutrition brand, as well as under the Gold Standard 100% Whey and ABB brands.
Optimum’s 2007 revenues totaled $195 million, with a reported operating profit of $32 million. Glanbia is acquiring Optimum on a debt-free basis, and the acquisition will be funded by Glanbia’s existing resources. “This is an exciting acquisition for Glanbia, as it gives us a leading position of scale in a fast-growing segment of the nutrition market,” said Glanbia Group Managing Director John Moloney in a statement. Nutrition Business Journal estimates that U.S. sports nutrition supplement sales grew 8% to $2.6 billion in 2007.
Glanbia acquired Canada-based omega-3 food-ingredient supplier Pizzey’s Milling in September 2007, providing further evidence that the Irish ingredient company is working to diversify its nutrition industry holdings.