Leading food and agribusiness-focused private equity group, Paine & Partners announced the addition of Dr. Stephen R. Padgette, formerly the vice president of R&D Investment Strategy with Monsanto Co. to their team as operating director.
Dr. Padgette’s brings deep experience gained through his 30-year career in the fields of agricultural technology, R&D management, and strategic planning and execution, which will serve him well in his role of identifying new innovative investment opportunities while also strategically guiding current Paine & Partners portfolio companies.
Most recently, Dr. Padgette developed Monsanto’s growth strategies and investment focus in regard to biologicals and precision agriculture, and launched Monsanto Growth Ventures – the company’s corporate venture capital unit which has made more than 20 capital commitments to companies involved in biological, imaging, precision ag, chemistry, robotics and biotechnology, including leading a Series A for Spain’s PlantResponse Biotech.
“Steve’s exceptional accomplishments and proven experience at Monsanto make him a terrific addition to the Paine & Partners team,” said Kevin Schwartz, President and founding partner, Paine & Partners. “We seek to increase productivity in the global food and agriculture value chain through investment in sustainable technologies, products and services. These goals align perfectly with Steve’s broad expertise in biotechnology, R&D investment strategy and business development, which are bolstered by his significant experience as a research scientist.”
Indeed, Paine & Partners has already moved on its goal of increasing its exposure to technology-based investments along the food and ag value chains. Most recently, in September of this year GAI News reported that the firm announced its acquisition of The Global ID Group, a platform focused on providing testing solutions for critically important food safety and quality assurance measures. This acquisition marks the fifth company added to the firm’s Fund IV portfolio, which closed in January 2015 for $893 million. Paine & Partners also hold investments in seed production through Suba Seeds and crop pest management through AgBiTech
Consequently, Golub Capital, a credit asset manager and financier of middle market, private equity-backed transactions announced that it was providing Paine & Partners with GOLD funding (Golub Capital One-Load Debt facility) in support of the firm’s acquisition of the Global IL Group.
“We are excited to support Paine & Partners and Global ID in their future growth plans. Both partners bring an exceptional level of expertise in the food safety industry, and we look forward to helping them achieve and surpass their goals in the next phase of their development,” said Greg Cashman, Senior Managing Director at Golub Capital.
It is portfolio companies such as these that will benefit from Dr. Padgette’s well of knowledge and experience in the field of biotechnology and agtech.
“I am very excited to join Paine & Partners and am eager to apply my experience and perspectives,” said Dr. Padgette. “This is an exciting and important time for investing in agribusiness as the need for comprehensive solutions to increasing sustainable crop productivity continues to grow, and I look forward to working with Paine & Partners’ strong team of operating and investing professionals to help identify and capture opportunities for the firm’s portfolio companies and for new investments.”
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Lynda Kiernan