By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media

After over a decade of holding onto this biological pest control asset, Paine Schwartz Partners is making a portfolio exit. The private equity firm, which specializes in sustainable food chain investing, is unloading holding company AgBiTech, a Fort Worth, Texas-based biological pesticide company that Paine Schwartz purchased back in 2015, to chemicals giant BASF Agricultural Solutions. The deal signals the latest high-profile handoff from a financial sponsor to a strategic buyer eager to scale proven alternatives to conventional chemistries. The deal reflects how biologicals are moving from niche solutions to core components of crop protection strategies.

AgBiTech’s biological products are designed to target some of agriculture’s most damaging caterpillar pests, giving growers a cost-effective way to replace or supplement chemical insecticides across both broad-acre and specialty crops. The solutions offer reliable control with a lighter environmental footprint, while helping farmers manage resistance and build more resilient, integrated pest management programs.

Under the agreement, BASF will take full ownership of AgBiTech, including its product portfolio, intellectual property, manufacturing footprint, R&D capabilities and global workforce. If all goes well, the transaction, reached with Paine Schwartz Partners and other shareholders, is expected to close in H1 2026. The acquisition highlights BASF’s push to deepen its biological insect control offering at a time when farmers, particularly in key markets such as Brazil, are seeking more targeted and sustainable tools to manage rising pest pressures.

BASF Agricultural Solutions , Senior Vice President Global Strategic Marketing & Sustainability Marko Grozdanovic stated, “Brazil is one of the fastest-growing markets for biological crop protection. This planned acquisition is a consequent step in executing our strategy that strengthens our presence as an integrated solution provider in this highly relevant segment.”

BASF Agricultural Solutions Senior Vice President Latin America Sergi Vizoso-Sansano said, “Yield-robbing chewing insects, especially lepidoptera caterpillars, have long been concerns for Brazilian farmers, who have come to know AgBiTech’s technology as an additional solution for addressing these.”

Since its founding over two decades ago, AgBiTech has built its business around harnessing nature’s native defense systems to manage insect pressure in the field. The target company applies what’s known as nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) science to create highly targeted biological insect control solutions to combat naturally occurring viruses. AgBiTech has a footprint across key agricultural regions in Brazil, the U.S. and Australia, supporting growers in row crops including soybeans, corn and cotton, alongside a range of specialty crops.

At the time of the deal in 2015, Paine Schwartz’s Kevin Schwartz commented, “This investment in AgBiTech reflects [our] belief in the value that can be created through sustainable and environmentally safe solutions to meet the growing global demand for food. AgBiTech’s high-quality NPV products help solve the challenges that farmers are facing from [pests like] Helicoverpa.”

Through AgBiTech’s biological insect control platform, Paine Schwartz helped expand the use of organic and nature-based pest management tools across an estimated 17.5 million acres, contributing to reduced pressure on natural habitats and supporting biodiversity at scale. The exit to a global strategic buyer has come full circle, demonstrating how sustainability-driven innovation can mature into a platform with lasting commercial and environmental impact.

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