The rumors started swirling in December. BSN had finally entered into an agreement with another company to purchase them. There were a few companies looking to purchase BSN, because of their continued growth and great products, but when we heard that Glanbia was emerging as the front runner, it got interesting. Because Glanbia, in our industry, is a known company, being the owners of Optimum Nutrition and American Body Boduilding products, and because they have given these two companies great support and leeway into building the brands into what they are.

By January 1st, everything looked to be in order, but no one except the dealmakers knew when the final acquisition date would take place, or if there would be snags. This morning, everything was complete. BSN was purchased for $144 million dollars, debt free.

In a conference call to BSN employees today at 9am Eastern time, Hugh McGuire, CEO of Glanbia, spoke of the purchase and how they intend to keep continuing making BSN a household name and the great brand they are.

In a conference call to Optimum and ABB employees an hour later, they were told that the acquisition was complete. The companies would stay separate for now, and all business was the same as usual. For Glanbia, this is a great move – BSN, along with Optimum and ABB, are three great supplement brands that are continuing to grow.

Here is one of the press releases that was found on the internet regarding the purchase.

Irish cheese and nutritional ingredients maker Glanbia (ISE:GL9) on Wednesday said it had bought US sector player Bio-Engineered Supplements and Nutrition (BSN) for USD144m (EUR107m), in line with its strategy to grow in the sports nutrition sector. Glanbia has financed the deal with existing debt facilities and expects the acquisition to increase its earnings in 2011. BSN employs 140 people and sells its products through 40,000 retail stores in the US as well as in 90 countries globally. It booked net revenues of USD135.4m and an adjusted EBIT of USD16.3m in 2009. Its gross assets stood at USD30.5m at the end of December 2009. Country: , USA Sector: Pharmaceuticals, Food/Beverages/Tobacco Target: Bio-Engineered Supplements & Nutrition Inc (BSN) Buyer: Glanbia Plc Deal size in USD: 144m Type: Corporate acquisition Financing: Existing resources, Debt Status: Closed