July 1, 2015

Just days after announcing its exit from Icicle Foods, Paine & Partners announces that its Paine & Partners Fund IV has acquired Spearhead International Limited, one of the EU’s largest agricultural producers, for an undisclosed amount. This marks the first investment for the group’s Fund IV.

England-based Spearhead International farms approximately 85,000 hectares of agricultural land in Poland, the Czech Republic, the UK, Romania and Slovakia, producing a variety of crops including grains and oilseeds, potatoes, sugar beet, vegetables, seed crops, milk, livestock and other agricultural goods. Over recent years, Spearhead had also diversified, establishing significant operations in both upstream and downstream businesses including supply chain management, and seed production.

Spearhead’s existing management team, which has overseen the company’s growth and expansion within the value chain, will remain in place. However, following the close of the deal, John Atkin, former chief operating officer of Syngenta will be named as the new Chairman of Spearhead.

“The company combines excellence in primary production with the competitive edge created through its upstream and downstream businesses,” says incoming Spearhead Chairman, John Atkin in a recent press release, “In a market where efficiency and differentiation is critical, Spearhead has significant potential for further growth.”

Because of Spearhead’s vast vertically integrated operations there exists many opportunities to capture high-return product and expansion synergies between Spearhead and other businesses in Paine & Partners’ food and agribusiness portfolio.

“With its vertically integrated business model and focus on applying technology to agribusiness, Spearhead is a natural fit in Paine & Partners’ portfolio,” says W. Dexter Paine, III, Chairman, CEO and founding partner at Paine & Partners, “We will be able to leverage Paine & Partners expertise across the food and agribusiness value chain and achieve synergies across our portfolio to enhance the Spearhead’s operations and create value.”