Currently Protient's main customer base consists of food, dietary supplement and infant formula manufacturers in North America.
"We intend to broaden our specialty protein product range, expand Protient sales globally and take advantage of the cross selling opportunities in this fast growing sector," said ABF Ingredients CEO Stephen Catling.
Robert Rauwenhort, manager of ABF Ingredients' protein business, told NutraIngredients-USA.com that Protient will benefit from existing sales channels in Europe.
In particular, there are synergies between the Protient business and ABF Ingredients' existing yeast extract business, which it acquired from Burns Philp last year and which has a presence mainly in Europe.
Rauwenhorst added that Asia is another candidate for future expansion.
According to ABF Ingredients, the protein specialty market is worth approximately $2.2 billion, and demand is growing at between six and 10 percent per year. Sports nutrition and functional food represent two key areas contributing to this growth.
Protient responded to this opportunity by fitting out its factory in Norfolk, Nebraska, to produce as much as 10 million pounds of whey protein isolate per year, as of last October - in addition to capacity at its factory in Mountain Lake, Minnesota.
Until the close of the transaction, which was announced today, Protient was owned by Boston-based venture capital company Ampersand Ventures, State of Wisconsin Investment Board and Protient management.
The company declined to reveal the value of the transaction.
Founded in 1998, Protient employs some 240 people across its headquarters in St Paul and eight manufacturing facilities. In addition to whey, it also offers soy protein isolates for use in soy milks and high protein beverages, and has its own brand of finished sports nutrition products.