Phibro Animal Health Corp. announced Aug. 1 that it has acquired the business and assets of Osprey Biotechnics Inc., a privately held developer and marketer of microbial products.

According to Phibro, acquiring the Osprey business strengthens its portfolio of nutritional specialty products and provides new opportunities in a fast-growing sector of the animal health industry. Osprey manufacturers and markets numerous products for a variety of applications and industries, as well as producing key components for Phibro’s recently launched Provia Prime direct-fed microbial product for poultry.

“Osprey is a great business run by people we deeply respect. This acquisition provides Phibro with new product opportunities and a cutting-edge organization with strong manufacturing capabilities,” said Phibro chairman, president and chief executive officer Jack Bendheim. “Osprey’s proven and ever-expanding library of microbial strains will serve as an excellent platform for growth within the animal health industry as well as in burgeoning agriculture adjacencies such as seed coatings.”

“We are excited to join the Phibro family,” Osprey CEO Lauren Danielson said. “Partnering with Phibro opens up even more opportunities for our business, as it allows us to leverage Phibro’s proven expertise in nutritional specialty products that help improve animal health, productivity and profitability. We are also excited about the ability to scale our fermentation capacity, utilizing Phibro’s current footprint, to further service our customers. The value of this transaction is a testament to the highly skilled, innovative and hard-working people of Osprey.”

Welcoming Osprey's employees, Phibro chief operating officer Larry Miller noted that “Osprey’s leadership of Lauren Danielson and Vince Scuilla will continue as leaders of our microbial business as we integrate Osprey into Phibro. Our employees share similar values and have a shared vision for working collaboratively with customers to help identify and provide solutions. We value the longstanding strategic relationships Osprey has built with its many customers across multiple industries, and we look forward to continuing to develop and strengthen these partnerships.”

Phibro said it expects the transaction to be accretive to adjusted earnings and adjusted diluted earnings per share for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2020. Phibro funded the acquisition through existing credit facilities.

Phibro is a diversified global developer, manufacturer and supplier of a broad range of animal health and mineral nutrition products for livestock, helping veterinarians and farmers produce healthy, affordable food while using fewer natural resources.