Agriculture Acquisitions in Kansas

The Andersons, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANDE) has acquired a majority ownership stake in Skyland Grain, LLC, expanding its grain and fertilizer businesses across Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Texas. The deal gives Skyland access to The Andersons' asset footprint and merchandising capabilities, while enlarging The Andersons' retail farm center business and agronomy presence in the region.

King Ranch, Inc. has acquired a 50% stake in Cobalt Cattle, the United States' fourth-largest cattle feeding operator, which runs six feedyards across Colorado, Kansas and Texas. The transaction brings King Ranch into a strategic partnership with Cobalt (which is backed by growth equity partner AGR Partners) as part of King Ranch's move to expand and vertically integrate across the beef value chain.

NativeSeed Group, a Heartwood Partners portfolio company, has acquired Star Seed, a producer and supplier of conservation and farm seeds based in Osborne, Kansas. The add-on expands NativeSeed's product offering (adding warm-season varieties and >300 seed varieties) and extends its geographic footprint into the U.S. Midwest to better serve conservation, farm, and restoration customers.

Pfingsten Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, has acquired Fairbank Equipment, Inc. from Great Range Capital. TM Capital served as exclusive advisor to the seller; Great Range Capital had owned Fairbank since December 2012 and supported its expansion into fertilizer and propane markets.

Sequel Holdings, L.P. acquired Star Seed, Inc. from Gladstone Investment Corporation (Gladstone Investment) on December 21, 2018. Gladstone Investment sold its equity interest and prepaid its debt investment in Star Seed, a Kansas-based seed distributor with strengths in native grasses, wildflowers, forages and small grains; Gladstone said the sale generated a realized gain.