Agriculture Acquisitions in 2021

International Farming (IFC), a privately‑owned institutional asset manager, has acquired Chelan Fruit Cooperative, a 100‑year‑old Washington grower, packer and shipper of apples, cherries and pears. The deal combines Chelan Fruit’s orchards, packing and controlled‑atmosphere storage with IFC’s existing Washington tree‑fruit footprint to drive economies of scale and improve grower economics.

Paine Schwartz Partners, alongside co-investors Mitsui & Co. and Rabo Investments, has completed a strategic investment acquiring a 50% ownership stake in Hendrix Genetics. NPM Capital sold its minority interest as part of the transaction; co-founders Thijs Hendrix and Antoon van den Berg retain the other 50% and Hendrix Genetics will continue to be led by CEO Jolanda van Haarlem. Financial terms were not disclosed and the investment is intended to accelerate growth by expanding breeding programs, technology and data capabilities, and geographic reach.

Village Farms International acquired a 70% interest in Québec-based ROSE LifeScience for total consideration of up to C$46.7 million (C$19.9 million cash and C$26.8 million in Village Farms shares). ROSE — a vertically integrated cannabis cultivator, branded product supplier and third-party commercialization/distribution partner operating a Health Canada‑licensed 55,000 sq ft CEA facility in Huntingdon, Québec — becomes Village Farms’ Québec operational unit, with ROSE management retaining a 30% interest and remaining in their roles.

New Mountain Capital has closed its acquisition of Profile Products, a Buffalo Grove, Illinois-based developer and manufacturer of engineered horticulture growing media, erosion control products and soil amendments. The deal follows Incline Equity Partners' partnership with Profile since 2018 and positions New Mountain to fund product innovation, capacity expansion and strategic add-on acquisitions to accelerate growth.

PROFILE Products LLC has acquired Florikan ESA LLC, a Sarasota-based manufacturer, blender and distributor of controlled-release fertilizers. The transaction (closed Oct. 15, 2021) includes all Florikan product lines and facilities — including a manufacturing facility and expanding distribution center in Bowling Green, Florida — and aims to expand PROFILE's sustainable agronomic product portfolio; financial terms were not disclosed and all Florikan employees will remain in their roles.

Stonecourt Capital announced a $775 million transaction with Arizona-based Moon Valley Nurseries to provide capital and strategic support for accelerated growth. Funds managed by the Credit Group of Ares Management are providing financing; Stonecourt will partner with founder and CEO Les Blake and the management team to pursue acquisitions, open additional retail locations, and expand the company’s geographic footprint.

MedX Holdings Inc. (OTC: MEDH) has acquired Craft Herbs LLC, a Texas limited liability company licensed to cultivate and process hemp in South Texas. Craft Herbs operates three facilities (San Antonio lab/kitchen, a 5-acre farm in New Braunfels, and an 86-acre lease near Laredo) and produces hemp products including fiber, feed, biomass and CBD; MEDH says the deal advances its vertical integration and capacity for hemp and cannabis products.

Dutch investment firm NPM Capital has taken a minority stake in KUBO, a family-owned developer of high-tech greenhouse solutions. The investment will support KUBO's international expansion, organisational professionalisation and potential buy-and-build activity as the company scales its high-tech greenhouse, software and services offering.

Tide Rock Holdings acquired Summit Seed Coatings and Midwest Seed Coating to enter the custom seed coating industry and expand its agriculture-oriented portfolio. The two businesses will operate under a single entity, Summit Seed Coatings LLC, led by industry veteran Bill Talley, and will join Tide Rock's growing portfolio to expand capacity and scale in seed coating for turf, forage and legume seeds.

Parkway Capital, the mezzanine investment arm of Calvert Street Investment Partners, provided subordinated debt to lead a recapitalization of Phoenix Feeds & Nutrition, marking the company's first institutional capital. The financing is intended to support PFN's growth initiatives and expansion of operations across New England and New York.

Macquarie Asset Management has agreed to sell Lawson Grains Pty Limited to New Forests and Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) following a public tender process. Lawson Grains is a large Australian grains and oilseeds producer (c. 90,500 arable hectares, ~200,000 tonnes p.a. production); completion is subject to Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval and commercial terms are confidential.

Semios, the Vancouver-based precision-farming platform, has acquired Agworld, a Perth-headquartered data-driven farm management platform, to combine capabilities and form an independent global AgTech solutions provider. The deal brings together complementary tools and datasets to deliver a unified, end-to-end crop management solution for growers, agronomists and ag retailers across multiple countries.

Arc, the B2B events, data and media platform backed by funds managed by EagleTree Capital, has acquired Farmers Guardian Ltd and LAMMA Ltd — the UK agriculture division of AgriBriefing. The deal is Arc’s first acquisition as it builds a global events and media platform; AgriBriefing has retained its focus on global pricing, analytics, forecasting, market data and consulting.

Solum Partners has purchased a majority stake in Monte Vista Farming Company, a California-based almond huller, sheller and processor. The investment provides capital for Monte Vista to expand operations, invest in technology and strengthen its balance sheet while CEO Jonathan Hoff and the Hoff family remain involved as investors.

Farmers Edge Inc. (TSX: FDGE) has agreed to acquire CommoditAg, an online marketplace for agricultural inputs, with CommoditAg operating as a wholly owned subsidiary led by its existing management. The acquisition expands Farmers Edge's e-commerce capabilities and integrates CommoditAg's fulfillment network and supplier relationships into Farmers Edge's connected digital agriculture ecosystem.

Patten Seed, a portfolio company of Heartwood Partners, has acquired Mid Tenn Turf to expand its turfgrass production and Super-Sod retail footprint into Tennessee. Mid Tenn operates over 2,400 acres across farm locations in Manchester and Benton, Tennessee, and will continue producing warm- and cool-season turfgrasses to supply Patten Seed’s product lines and retail channels.

Specialty Sales, a Benford Capital Partners portfolio company, completed two add-on acquisitions: Environmental Technologies, Inc. (Enviro‑Tech) and Bovistride, LLC. The deals expand Specialty Sales' automated hoof bath systems and recurring hoof care product capabilities, consolidating its market leadership serving commercial dairies in the United States.

Arbor Vita8, a seed-to-sale hemp processor based in Phenix City, Alabama, has acquired Mobile Hemp Drying Company, a Florida-based builder, lessor and distributor of mobile hemp dryers, and formed a new subsidiary, Arbor Vita8 Dry, LLC (AV8D). The acquisition expands Arbor Vita8's on-farm drying capabilities, enabling mobile drying services across the Southeast and planned national rollout to reduce crop loss and speed post-harvest processing for hemp farmers.

GrowGeneration Corp. acquired Mendocino Greenhouse and Garden Supply, a hydroponic garden center in Mendocino, California, expanding GrowGen's footprint in Northern California's Emerald Triangle. The Mendocino store's eight employees joined GrowGen's team and founder Nick Halfacre will remain as General Manager; the location is expected to generate over $8 million in annual sales.

Hydrobuilder Holdings LLC, an omnichannel platform serving the hydroponics, controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) and specialty agriculture market, acquired Way to Grow, a Colorado-based retailer of aeroponic, hydroponic and greenhouse products. The deal adds five retail locations in Colorado to Hydrobuilder's portfolio and expands the platform's geographic and retail footprint.

Hydrobuilder Holdings LLC acquired Home Grown Ventures (HGV / HGV Nutrients), a manufacturer and distributor of proprietary water-soluble nutrients for commercial and hobbyist growers. The acquisition brings HGV in-house as part of Hydrobuilder's omnichannel platform to vertically integrate manufacturing and support the company's growth across commercial and retail channels.

Rabobank and TELUS Agriculture jointly acquired Conservis, a farm management systems company that consolidates farm data into a single platform. The partners plan to further develop Conservis’ platform—enhancing financial reporting and integrating with TELUS Agriculture’s ADX/ASX—to help growers manage agronomy, finances and supply-chain validation.

Stirling Square Capital has acquired Sustainable Agro Solutions (SAS), a Lleida-headquartered developer and producer of biostimulants, soil and water improvers, and specialty plant nutrition solutions. The acquisition is a platform investment for Stirling Square aimed at supporting SAS’s international growth, sustainability initiatives and consolidation in the fragmented biostimulants market.

Summa Equity Fund II and Longship Fund II have invested in Nofitech, a Norway-based turnkey supplier of land-based recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), to support the company’s growth in land-based fish farming. The capital will be used to scale Nofitech’s standardized turnkey RAS solutions, automation and production prediction capabilities; Longship, which first invested in 2018, will continue partnering with management and the founders.

ICL Group Ltd. has completed the acquisition of Compass Minerals América do Sul S.A. (the South American plant nutrition business, historically known as Produquímica) for approximately US$420–432 million. The transaction (cash of ~US$325M plus assumption of ~US$107M net debt, with up to ~R$88M earn-out possible) expands ICL's specialty plant nutrition footprint in Brazil, adding eight production sites, a large commercial coverage and direct-to-farm sales.

An affiliate of H.I.G. Capital has sold Bigsal, a leading animal nutrition company in northern Brazil, to Trouw Nutrition, a subsidiary of the Nutreco Group. H.I.G. said it partnered with Bigsal's management to expand and modernize the company's factory — driving revenue growth of over 50% — and the acquisition will expand Trouw Nutrition/Nutreco's presence in the northern Brazilian cattle market.

Hydrofarm Holdings Group, Inc. completed the acquisition of Aurora Innovations, Aurora International and Gotham Properties LLC, an Eugene, Oregon-based manufacturer and supplier of organic hydroponic nutrients and grow media. The deal expands Hydrofarm's portfolio of nutrient and growing-media brands and complements its recent purchases of HEAVY 16, House & Garden, and Mad Farmer.

Syngenta Group's vegetable seeds business agreed to acquire Verisem BV, a global seed production, processing and distribution company, from Paine Schwartz Partners' Food Chain Fund IV. The deal, terms undisclosed, is intended to strengthen Syngenta's vegetable seed production capabilities and global footprint; the transaction is subject to customary regulatory conditions.

Barentz International has entered into an agreement to acquire Pestell Nutrition, a Canada-based distributor of feed additives, nutritional ingredients, minerals and pet specialty ingredients, from Wind Point Partners. The acquisition strengthens Barentz's animal nutrition and animal health capabilities in North America and is expected to close subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Dairy.com has acquired ever.ag to combine AgTech software, commodity brokerage, crop insurance and risk-management capabilities, creating an expanded provider for dairy, grain and livestock customers. The acquisition adds ever.ag team members and technology (including Vault farm software) to Dairy.com's My Dairy Dashboard and Blimling services, increasing the combined organization to over 200 employees across seven global locations.

Chicago-based private equity firm Benford Capital Partners completed a recapitalization of Nutrition Service Company, a Pulaski, Wisconsin-based producer of custom dairy cattle feed blends and processed soybean products. Benford will partner with NSC management (CEO Robert Block and CFO Paul Harke) to fund organic growth, invest in manufacturing and sales capabilities, and pursue add-on acquisitions as NSC becomes a platform investment for the firm.

Norvestor VIII has signed agreements to acquire Impecta Fröhandel AB and LOG AS through a newly established holding company, Green Group Holding AB, becoming the majority shareholder with ~67% ownership. The combination creates a Nordic horticulture platform combining Impecta’s B2C seed and garden retail expertise with LOG’s B2B wholesale and growing e-commerce capabilities, targeting organic growth and further consolidation across Sweden and Norway.

Semios, a Vancouver-based precision-farming platform, has acquired Centricity, a Wenatchee, Washington developer of field data collection applications including ApRecs. The acquisition will integrate Centricity's web and mobile tools into Semios' platform to simplify growers' workflows, improve data mediation and analytics, and accelerate delivery of integrated AgTech solutions for permanent-crop growers and agri-businesses.

Arable Capital Partners has acquired Royal Ridge Fruits, Dorsing Farms, Inc. and related entities, partnering with the Dorsing family who will remain involved and roll over a meaningful equity stake. The investment gives Arable a vertically integrated platform in growing, processing and cold storage of organic and conventional dried and IQF fruits based in Royal City, Washington, to support future growth in organics and value-added fruit ingredients.

Roebling Capital Partners and Strength Capital Partners completed a majority recapitalization of Chemlock Nutrition, a Cincinnati-area developer and distributor of high‑purity specialty feed additives. Northcreek Mezzanine and Harbert Credit Solutions participated as subordinated debt lenders and equity co‑investors while Enterprise Bank provided the senior term loan; proceeds will fund R&D, technical hires and new product innovation to accelerate growth.

Juggernaut Capital Partners has made an investment in Atlas Vineyard Management, a Napa-based provider of vineyard development, farming, grape sales and viticulture services serving California, Oregon and other U.S. wine regions. The investment positions Juggernaut to expand its presence and adjacencies in the wine industry leveraging Atlas's proprietary data-driven viticulture practices and experienced management team.

Hydrofarm Holdings Group, Inc. agreed to acquire House & Garden, Inc. and affiliated entities for approximately $125 million, funded with existing cash, with the acquired businesses becoming wholly owned indirect subsidiaries. The acquisition expands Hydrofarm's branded nutrients portfolio (including the House & Garden and Mad Farmer brands), with House & Garden expected to generate about $55 million in 2021 net sales and the deal valuing the business at under 7x estimated 2021 adjusted EBITDA.

Virtual Medical International, Inc. (OTC: QEBR) agreed to acquire Cherry Valley Growers, Inc., an industrial hemp cultivator and processor, along with Adler Properties, LLC (including an 11,560 sq ft warehouse) for $2.0 million in cash. The deal gives Virtual Medical expanded hemp cultivation acreage, processing/extraction capabilities and associated New York state hemp licenses to support its vertically integrated CBD/wellness strategy.

All States Ag Parts (ASAP), a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries, has acquired Hoye Tractor Parts, an online-focused distributor of new aftermarket and used Yanmar tractor parts based in Iowa Park, Texas. The add-on expands ASAP's aftermarket parts catalog (adding over 200,000 Yanmar parts), online presence and geographic footprint into North Texas; financing for the transaction was provided by Maranon Capital.

Lesaffre, through its Agrauxine business unit, has acquired Advanced Biological Marketing (ABM), a Van Wert, Ohio-based developer and manufacturer of biological seed treatments, biostimulants and foliar biopesticides. The deal strengthens Agrauxine's presence and R&D/manufacturing capabilities in the United States and broadens Lesaffre's portfolio in crop bioprotection and bionutrition.

Verdesian Life Sciences has acquired Cytozyme Laboratories, Inc.; Cascadia Capital served as exclusive financial advisor to Cytozyme. The acquisition brings together complementary biological and nutritional crop technologies to expand Verdesian's product portfolio and support sustainable yield solutions for growers.

Jushi Holdings Inc. signed a definitive agreement to acquire OhiGrow, LLC and Ohio Green Grow LLC, two licensed Ohio cultivators, for $5.0 million in cash. The acquisition (subject to regulatory approvals) gives Jushi a ~10,000 sq. ft. cultivation facility in Toledo to supply biomass to its Ohio processing operations and advance vertical integration in the Ohio medical cannabis market.

RLJ Equity Partners and Cave Creek Capital Management completed a growth recapitalization of Growers House Holdings LLC, a digitally native, omni-channel hydroponic equipment and supplies retailer based in Tucson, Arizona. The recapitalization retains founder management and provides capital to accelerate omni-channel growth, expand retail footprint (including a second Arizona store and international e-commerce), and develop proprietary content and product R&D.

Summit Equity Group and Midwest Growth Partners, with co-investor Northcreek Mezzanine and Livingston management, acquired Livingston Machinery Company by purchasing stock held in the company’s ESOP and capitalized Ag Solutions Group Holding Company, LLC to combine Livingston with Ag Solutions Group. The move creates a scaled agricultural equipment dealer platform serving multiple Midwest and Southern states and provides capital for growth, M&A and management succession.

Main Street Capital Corporation provided $20.6 million in a combination of senior secured term debt and a minority direct equity investment to facilitate a minority recapitalization of Grand Flower Growers, LLC. The investment, made alongside an unnamed co-investor and in partnership with the company's existing owners and senior management, will provide growth capital to support operations and expansion of the greenhouse grower and distributor based in Wayland, Michigan.

InstarAGF Asset Management Inc. has acquired PRT Growing Services Ltd., a North American leader in containerized forest seedling production and reforestation logistics, from TriWest Capital Partners. PRT’s management will remain in place; the company is headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia and operates multiple growing and cold-storage facilities across Canada and the U.S.; financial terms were not disclosed.

Smoky Mountain Family Farms (SMFF), a family-run tomato farming and distribution operation based in Newport, Tennessee, has acquired Triple C Family Farms (Chandley Farms, LLC) of Midway, Tennessee to expand production and regional reach. The purchase triples SMFF's production heading into the 2021 season and supports the company's strategy to serve multiple U.S. regions while extending its fair labor programs into Tennessee.

GrowGeneration Corp. acquired Agron.io, a Denver-based B2B wholesale agriculture platform that provides ERP, real-time inventory and logistics tools for commercial growers. The acquisition expands GrowGeneration's commercial services and e-commerce capabilities to better serve large commercial and multi-state operator growers.

Matrix Sciences has acquired AgroLab Inc., an agronomic testing laboratory in Harrington, Delaware, expanding Matrix's agri-food laboratory network and geographic coverage across the U.S. The acquisition brings AgroLab's soil, plant tissue, compost and related testing capabilities into Matrix's portfolio to better serve production agriculture, lawn care and compost manufacturers.

GrowGeneration Corp. (NASDAQ: GRWG) has acquired Char Coir, an RHP‑certified manufacturer of premium coconut fiber growing media (including the Coco Cube). The acquisition expands GrowGeneration's private‑label and product offerings in sustainable horticultural substrates and is projected to add in excess of $15 million in revenue to GrowGen in 2021.