Agriculture Acquisitions in 2019

Dutch private equity investor NPM Capital has agreed to acquire a stake in Agro Care, a Maasdijk-based greenhouse tomato grower, through a growth capital investment. The funding will support Agro Care’s investments in technologically advanced greenhouses and future acquisitions across the Netherlands, France, Morocco and Tunisia; financial terms were not disclosed.

Pestell Nutrition, a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners, has acquired Premier Ag Resources, a value-added distributor of specialty pet food ingredients and feed additives headquartered in London, Ontario. The add-on acquisition expands Pestell Nutrition's product portfolio and geographic presence across Canada and the U.S., supporting cross-selling and Wind Point's value-creation plan.

Raven Industries (NASDAQ: RAVN) acquired Smart Ag Inc., a developer of autonomous farming solutions headquartered in Ames, Iowa, to bolster its Raven Autonomy strategic growth platform and integrate Smart Ag into its Applied Technology division. The deal expands Raven's autonomous and perception/path-planning capabilities for OEM partners and large-scale agricultural retailers and brings Smart Ag's retrofit kits, software platform and dealer network into Raven's precision-ag portfolio.

Skyline Global Partners LLC closed a growth equity investment in BRM Holdings LLC, the parent company of Gypsoil and Beneficial Reuse Management, on September 16, 2019. The investment will provide capital and strategic support to expand BRM’s manufacturing and distribution of specialty agricultural and construction products made from reusable industrial by-products; financial terms were not disclosed.

Gerawan Farming Inc. and Wawona Packing Co., LLC completed a merger to create a larger, combined stone-fruit growing and packing platform, with Paine Schwartz (an existing investor in Wawona) partnering to facilitate the transaction. Dan Gerawan will lead the combined company as the largest individual shareholder and CEO, while Brent Smittcamp remains a significant shareholder and engaged executive.

Paine Schwartz Partners has made its first growth equity investment from Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund V in Advanced Agrilytics, an agronomics services business that provides precision farming analytics and on‑the‑ground agronomic advice. Financial terms were not disclosed; the investment will support scaling the business, adding data scientists and agronomic professionals, and expanding customer and implementation teams.

Macer Forest Holdings Inc. purchased 100% of Brookfield Asset Management Inc.'s interest in Acadian Timber Corp., resulting in board changes and the appointment of Macer principal Malcolm Cockwell as Chairman. Brookfield Timberlands Management LP will continue as external manager under the existing asset management agreement, and the transaction terminated Brookfield's stand-by equity commitment to Acadian.

Pestell Group, via its Pestell Minerals & Ingredients (PMI) business unit and backed by Wind Point Partners, acquired Pro-Ag Products and Verus Animal Nutrition, two Winnipeg-based distributors/animal nutrition businesses. The add-on expands PMI's feed ingredients and feed additives offering and extends PMI's geographic footprint further west in Canada to support cross-selling and capability expansion.

New York-based Blue Road Capital has acquired B&W Quality Growers, a vertically-integrated producer of baby and specialty leafy greens headquartered in Fellsmere, Florida, from Boyne Capital. Blue Road intends to use B&W as a platform to scale its specialty leafy greens business and pursue add-on opportunities across retail, foodservice, wholesale, and specialty channels.

Grow West, a Northern California agricultural retailer based in Roseville, has acquired the assets of Clark Trucking Service, Inc. of West Sacramento to expand its vertically integrated trucking and fresh-food hauling capabilities. DCA Partners advised Grow West on the transaction, which integrates the family-owned Clark Trucking into Grow West Trucking's operations to broaden services for regional growers.

All States Ag Parts, a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries, acquired John F. Mahaney Company, a Sacramento-based distributor of professional-grade tools and farm/industrial supplies. The transaction is an add-on for ASAP that expands its retail footprint into California, strengthens its wholesale capabilities and adds manufacturing capability for Mahaney’s Red Rooster Tools brand.

Commodity Blenders, a portfolio company of High Street Capital, has acquired a feed production mill in Jonesville, Michigan, adding a second location to its West Salem, Ohio operation. The acquisition expands Commodity Blenders' production footprint and ability to serve dairy, swine and poultry customers across Michigan, western Ohio and Indiana as an add-on to its platform.

J.M. Huber Corporation has acquired Miller Chemical & Fertilizer, LLC, a Hanover, Pennsylvania–based manufacturer and distributor of non-hazardous crop protection adjuvants and nutritional agrichemical products. The seller was Dunes Point Capital (through Industrial Group Holdings); the acquisition expands Huber’s agricultural chemistry capabilities and product portfolio for farming customers across global markets.

Benson Hill Biosystems has acquired the assets of Schillinger Genetics (also known as eMerge Genetics), an Iowa-based developer of high-protein, non-GMO soybean varieties. Benson Hill will integrate Schillinger's germplasm and breeding expertise into its Seeds & Traits business and use its CropOS platform and gene editing capabilities to accelerate development of expanded soybean portfolios for human food and animal feed markets.

Nutrien has acquired Actagro, a developer, manufacturer and marketer of environmentally sustainable soil and plant health products, from Norwest Equity Partners. The acquisition (announced February 5, 2019 and closed March 15, 2019) expands Nutrien’s product portfolio and R&D capabilities to support crop nutrient efficiency and soil health solutions distributed through its retail channels.

Richardson International Limited has acquired Agland Seed and Chemical Ltd., a retail crop inputs location in La Crete, Alberta. The acquisition, which closed February 19, 2019, expands Richardson Pioneer’s crop inputs network in the Peace River region and brings Agland’s employees into the Richardson Pioneer team.

Excellere Partners, a Denver-based private equity firm, has made a strategic growth investment in SePRO Corporation to support the company's next phase of growth. The capital will be used to accelerate commercialization of SePRO's pipeline, expand infrastructure and R&D capabilities, and pursue complementary partnerships and acquisitions in the agricultural and aquatic specialty chemicals markets.

Wheatsheaf Group Limited, through its wholly owned food-safety subsidiary TriStrata Group, has acquired a 90% stake in Purfresh, a provider of controlled-atmosphere systems and cloud-based cold-chain monitoring for refrigerated ocean shipping containers. The acquisition will provide funding to accelerate global rollout of Purfresh's Intellipur monitoring software and atmosphere technologies to reduce spoilage and improve food safety in perishable cargo shipments.

Golden Opportunities Fund (managed by Westcap Mgt. Ltd.) made a $9.83 million equity investment in G-Mac's AgTeam Limited Partnership to support the company's expansion and growth initiatives. G-Mac's is a North American independent crop input retailer headquartered in Kindersley, Saskatchewan with nine retail locations and a ~90-person team focused on agronomics and fertilizer blending.

Market Maker Agriculture, a long-term hold private equity company based in Ottawa, has acquired a majority stake in Arkansas Valley Seed, a Denver-based seed supplier founded in 1945. The transaction provides capital and governance support to finance growth while enabling the principals to plan succession; Arkansas Valley CEO Richard Avila will remain in his role and owner Orlin Reinbold will retain a minority equity position and move into a consulting role.

Arable Capital Partners, via its newly formed platform Laurel Agriculture + Water Solutions (Laurel Ag), has acquired US Irrigation, a Bakersfield, California-based irrigation design and rental services provider. The bolt-on expands Laurel Ag’s precision water and irrigation capabilities across California and Arizona and brings US Irrigation’s founder Jon Tkac onto the Laurel Ag executive team.