Vancouver, Canada-based Columbus Exploration Corp. has announced it has completed its acquisition of Agricola Nuova Terra Guatemala S.A., with plans to create a new entity to be named Organto Foods Inc. upon receiving approval from the TSX Venture Exchange, according to a company press release. The companies initially announced the definitive agreement for the acquisition in August.

 

The newly formed entity plans to grow to become a leading global supplier of fresh-cut, branded organic produce sourced from company-owned farms and greenhouse operations located in Guatemala. Looking to the future, Organto plans to scale up its presence into other Latin American countries either through acquisitions or through the building of new sites. It is also considering the vertical integration of the company by directly acquiring distribution channels in its North American and European markets to be added to its growing and packaging operations.

 

Founded in Guatemala in 2013, Agricola was formed to provide both fresh organic and traditional produce to markets in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. A year later, in 2014, the company constructed a state-of-the-art processing and packaging plant in Guatemala with the initial capacity to process over 20 million pounds of produce per year, with the ability to scale up capacity to triple the original in the coming years.

 

Following the closing, Organto will have 72,608,931 common shares issued and outstanding, and a total of 4,700,000 incent stock options priced at $0.20 per share have been issued to certain directors, officers, and employees upon the closing of the transaction.

 

With the formation of the new entity, Organto’s management team and board have been re-established to include Peter Gianulis, chief executive officer, president, and director, Robert Giustra, Chairman and director, Arturo Bickford, chief operating officer and director, Akbar Hassanally, chief financial officer, Jenna Virk, corporate secretary and vice president, legal, Jeffrey Klenda, director, and Javier Reyes, director.