Probi, a Swedish probiotic company, will be acquiring Nutraceutix for $105 million. Nutraceutix has been operating in Redmond since its founding in 1983. Both companies expect the deal to be closed within the next 4 months.

In a press release on June 6^th, Probi stated that there will be “no significant staff changes” due to the acquisition. The combined company will have approximately 180 employees and Nutraceutix’s CEO, Tim Gamble, “is expected to remain employed as head of the North American entity during a transition period.”

Nutraceutix manufactures probiotic supplements, which are used to help prevent potential health issues. The probiotic strains are formulated at Nutrceutix’s Redmond facility and then shipped to their manufacturing facility in Lafayette, Colorado. This deal is expected to triple Probi’s sales in the North American market. 

Hugh Campbell, a managing director at Seattle investment bank Cascadia Capital and Nutraceutix’s advisor on the sale, explained why the two companies fit well together. “This was a really good strategic combination because Probi is a leader in research and development, and Nutraceutix is a leader in manufacturing”, said Campbell. The deal has the potential to be the first of many partnerships in the Life Sciences and Healthcare sectors between the two regions which are both home to many industry leaders in the space. When TDA met with Sweden’s Ambassador to the United States earlier this year, cooperative opportunities within healthcare were an important topic on the agenda.

Demand for probiotics has been increasing globally in recent years. Transparency Market Research reported that the global market for probiotics will expand by 7.40% annually between 2014 and 2020, increasing the market valuation from $62.6 billion in 2014 to $96 billion in 2020.