Chicago, IL—Glanbia Nutritionals has agreed to acquire Watson,according to a press release.

Glanbia Nutritionals is a nutritional solutions and cheese business, selling proteins, custom nutrient premixes, bioactives, and plant-based nutrition ingredients. It is a subsidiary of Glanbia plc., a global nutrition company with roots in the dairy industry.

Watson is a third-generation family business that manufactures and supplies custom nutrient premixes, bakery ingredients, edible film, and material conditioning solutions for the nutrition, food and beverage, personal care, and supplement industries.

According to the announcement, the transaction strengthens Glanbia’s capability set with microencapsulation, agglomeration, micronizing, and spray drying. The company says the knowledge and experience of the combined R&D teams will cement Glanbia’s position as a leader within the sector.

Brian Phelan, CEO of Glanbia Nutritionals, said in the release, “We are excited to welcome the 300 employees of Watson with their established reputation of expertise, technical capability, and commitment to excellence. The customers of both organizations will stand to benefit significantly from the combined capabilities that the two teams now bring together.”

A press release from Watsonnoted that the acquisition joins Watson’s two micronutrient manufacturing facilities in Connecticut and Illinois with Glanbia’s two facilities in California and Missouri, giving Glanbia a coast-to-coast ingredient solutions footprint.

James Watson, president of Watson Inc., said in Watson’s press release, “We believe that a combination of Watson and Glanbia will offer more growth and long-term opportunities for Watson, its customers, and employees. This is a defining moment in the growth of Watson as a business. We look forward to the next chapter of our story.”