October 29, 2015

Global agribusiness-focused private equity investment firm, Paine & Partners, has reached an agreement to acquire the Suba Seeds LLC for an undisclosed amount.  

Founded in 1974 and based in Longiano, Italy, Suba Seeds has operations in Italy, France, and the U.S., and is a leading producer, packer, and distributor of specialty vegetable and legume seeds for global professional, semi-professional, and hobby markets. The company is also a contract supplier to a wide field of global seed companies from a supply network of over 1,000 growers.

Suba is well known as the top producer of coriander and controls a portfolio of crop seeds including peas, beans, radishes, cabbage, alfalfa, carrots, chicory, and onion. The company also recently completed the construction of a state-of-the-art high throughput production facility to enhance the company’s ability to meet growing demand.

"With new production facilities and a strong grower footprint, Suba is well-positioned to continue capturing market share in the growing global market for specialty vegetable seed. We look forward to partnering with the Suba management team and employees to build on Suba's competitive advantages by expanding into new markets, enhancing Suba's portfolio with higher margin products and making strategic acquisitions," said Kevin Schwartz, president and founding partner at Paine & partners.

This is not Paine & Partners first investment in the global seed space. Through a predecessor fund, the firm invested in Seminis, which at the time was the world’s leading developer, producer, and marketer of vegetable and fruit seeds. And again, through a predecessor fund, the firm invested in Advanta Netherlands Holdings BV, which at the time of the investment was the largest independent agronomic seed company in the world.

"Our acquisition of Suba will provide Paine & Partners the opportunity to leverage our substantial in-house seed investment expertise and operating knowledge across the seed industry to build a global leading specialty vegetable seeds production platform," said Mr. Schwartz.