Private equity fund, Aqua Capital, which focuses on the food, agribusiness, and logistics industries in Brazil and South America has acquired a 60% stake in Rural Brasil, a Brazilian provider and distributor of fertilizers, seeds and pesticides, for an undisclosed amount.
Founded in 1987, Rural Brasil owns a chain of 12 stores serving more than 3,000 customers in the Cerrado region across the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso and Pará.
“We are very happy with this deal, which will allow the fund to have deeper and more active participation in the Brazilian agribusiness,” said Sebastian Popik, Aqua’s founding partner in a company statement. “Rural Brasil is already one of the leaders in its industry in the Brazilian Cerrado, offering a comprehensive portfolio of agricultural inputs, with a team of over 70 experienced professionals that work directly in the field.”
The remaining 40% of the company will be retained by the company’s founding partners. Benildo Teles will continue as chief executive officer, while José Marcolini Júnior will continue serving as chief marketing officer. Additionally, Claudio Augusto Diniz will maintain his seat on the company’s Board of Directors following the completion of the deal.
Aqua Capital has been recently adding to its $400 million in assets under management. In March of this year the firm acquired a majority stake in animal nutrition company, Yes. Headquartered in São Paulo, Yes produces animal feed additives geared at improving livestock health and performance, which it markets across Brazil and exports to fourteen countries, mainly within Latin America. With Aqua Capital’s support, Yes plans to become the first animal nutrition company in the world to produce four types of prebiotics.
Beyond agricultural inputs, in August 2015, Aqua Capital also acquired a controlling interest in GeneSeas, one of Brazil’s top tilapia producers for an undisclosed amount. GeneSeas will use the fresh capital to fund its planned modernization investments and expansion beyond its existing units in the states of Sao Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul. In the short term, the company plans to build a new packing plant and a new fattening unit in Mato Grosso.
Prior to the GeneSeas acquisition within last year, Aqua Capital acquired Brazil’s largest wine store chain, Grand Cru, and Dimicron, which it then merged into Aminoagro to create one of the top three foliaceous fertilizer producers in the country.
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Lynda Kiernan