Thread: Optimum Nutrition Sells Company

Glanbia Buys Optimum Nutrition For $315 Million | SupplementGenius.com

Glanbia Buys Optimum Nutrition For $315 Million
August 25, 2008

One of the biggest stories the supplement genius has seen in 2008 is the acquisition of Optimum Nutrition by one of the largest whey-protein manufacturers in the world. The company that has bought Optimum is called “Glanbia� which is headquartered in Ireland but has divisions around the world including Canada, U.S., Europe, U.K. and Nigeria to name a few. Glanbia employs 4.900 people and just last year their revenues totaled $2.2 billion which gives you an indication of just how large they are! Optimum is easily the top-5 largest sports nutrition companies in the U.S. and Canada right now with brands ‘Optimum Nutrition’ , ‘Gold Standard 100% Whey’ and ‘AMERICAN BODY BUILDNG’ leading the pack. The total consideration for the acquisition is $315 million dollars.

Optimum has been in the supplement business for 22 years now and is owned by Mike and Tony Costello. They have 4 state-of-the-art production facilities occupying over 500,000 square feet of operating space and are the only sports nutrition company to manufacture their own supplements in every product category they’re in. For the U.S. market, they also have their own distribution company which ensures that they have strong market presence and also helps them keep their costs low. It is with this combination of manufacturing and distributing their own supplements that Optimum has been able to offer high-quality products at an affordable price. They have three operating facilities located in Illinois, South Carolina and Florida employing 387 people. Last year, they generated $185 million in revenue with and $32 million operating profit.

John Moloney, Glanbia Group Managing Director, said:
“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. It is a close strategic fit with our core areas of expertise in whey and sports nutrition and brings us up the value chain into consumer markets. Optimum also fits very well with the Group’s stated growth strategy and ambition to continue to internationalise our business. The transaction is expected to be earnings enhancing from this year.�

Kevin Toland, CEO and President of Glanbia USA, said:
“Optimum is a strong business with an excellent track record and reputation in the sports nutrition market, particularly in the USA. The company has strong brands and a broad distribution network in an attractive market segment. We have a long standing relationship with Optimum and its leadership team and are delighted to welcome them to the Group. We look forward to growing and developing this business together into the future.�

^ That news is two and a half years old, friend. Although, yeah, that's a LOT of money exchanging hands.