Lipid Nutrition Acquires PharmaNutrients CLA Business

Lipid Nutrition Acquires PharmaNutrients CLA Business

WORMERVEER, NetherlandsLipid Nutrition (www.lipidnutrition.com), adivision of IOI-Loders Croklaan Group, signed an agreement to acquire the CLAOne® business of PharmaNutrients, effective Feb. 1. Gurnee, Ill.-basedPharmaNutrients is divesting the conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) product line tofocus on other proprietary nutritional formulations. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

According to Lipid Nutrition, the acquisition will not impact any employees.Both Lipid Nutritions North American operations in Channahon, Ill., andPharmaNutrients warehouse and customer service facilities in the Chicago areawill remain in operation. In addition, the company expects to provide fasterdelivery of the CLA One products to its European customers from Lipid NutritionsNetherlands production facility.

It has not yet been determined how the two brands will be managed, whetherthey will continue to be marketed separately or integrated under a single brand.We plan to evaluate the brand value and the needs of our customers beforemaking any decisions, said John Kurstjens, marketing manager for LipidNutrition - Europe.

Both PharmaNutrients and Lipid Nutrition already had access to the WARF(Wisconsin Alumini Research Foundation) CLA patents covering claims related tobody composition. With the acquisition, Lipid Nutrition gains access toPharmaNutrients patent portfolio, including a patent awarded last fallcovering CLAs impact on preventing the stress catabolic response, and onereceived in the spring on use of CLA combined with glucosamine and ascorbic acidfor prevention and treatment of inflammation and degenerative joint conditions.