AGR Partners announced it has divested the core business of portfolio company Tru-Test to Swiss identification and tracking solutions company Datamars for NZ$147.9 million (US$98 million).
Headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, Tru-Test’s business operates on a global scale, with offices not only across New Zealand, but also in Brazil, Australia, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. As a multi-national dairy and livestock equipment business, Tru-Test designs, manufactures, and markets its five product categories in more than 100 countries.
Under the terms of the deal, Datamars will acquire two divisions of Tru-Test’s business encompassing its milk meter and retail solutions business including electric fences, weighing, and EID systems. Combined these units account for approximately 85 percent of Tru-Test’s revenues.
Exiting shareholders in Tru-Test will continue to own the company’s Dairy Technology Services business which incorporates milk tanks and cooling systems.
AGR acquired a minority stake in Tru-Test in October 2015, and provided the company with follow-on capital last year, enabling it to continue with its plan for strategic growth and remain a leader in its category of livestock management equipment.
“Bringing AGR on as a partner in 2015 was a great choice,” said John Loughlin, chairman of Tru-Test. “They did everything they said they would do when we first met, kept their view long-term through the bottom of the dairy cycle, and added significant value.”
Now based in Davis, California, AGR Partners has seen consistent movement over the past few years. At the end of 2015 the firm opened its Chicago office as part of a strategic move to expand its national coverage and to support the company as it seeks new investment opportunities along the food and ag value chains. Soon after in 2016, the firm moved its headquarters to Davis to gain an advantage of proximity to the food and agriculture hub surrounding the University of California Davis. Working within the four pillars of opportunity, expertise, partnership, and patience, over the past four years AGR Partners has managed more than $400 million of investments.
The firm’s other portfolio companies include: Icicle Seafoods, one of the largest and most diversified companies of its kind in North America; Almark Foods, a leading provider of hard-boiled and peeled eggs; 3D Corporate Solutions, a leading pet food ingredient provider; SEMO Milling, a producer of human grade corn milling products; Opal Foods, a producer of generic and specialty eggs; and Ridley Corporation, Australia’s leading producer of animal feed for the dairy, poultry, swine, sheep, beef, and aquaculture industries; Titan Farms, a leading South Carolina-based, vertically integrated peach grower and processor; and Vintage Wine Estates, a privately held wine company that owns a collection of winery estates and brands and operates large scale crush, bottling, and storage facilities across Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino, Paso Robles, Washington State, and Oregon.
-Lynda Kiernan