September 13, 2017

Agribusiness-focused investor Unigrains has made its first investment through its €20 million (US$24 million) Iberian Capital Fund, advised by MCH Private Equity.

Unigrains manages approximately $1 billion euros and has partnered with nearly 150 companies through minority stakes, capital restructuring, strategic investments, and acquisitions. The firm launched the Iberian Capital Fund to specifically seek minority stakes in Spanish and Portuguese agri-food and agro-industrial companies, and has partnered with MCH Private Equity, one of the leading Spanish PE firms to manage the fund through leveraging its extensive experience in the Iberian region.

Chosen as the first investment made through this fund is Genuine Coconut – a leading independent operator in the coconut water category. Founded in 2014 in Zaragoza, Spain, Genuine Coconut spent two years developing and commercializing a unique and innovative technology that removes the husk of a coconut, and integrates an easy-to-open system applied directly to the fruit, enabling consumers to drink virgin coconut water directly from the coconut shell. By doing so, Genuine Coconut created a product that is certified 100 percent organic, ecologically-friendly, and completely biodegradable.

Within the first two years of its existence, Genuine Coconut has grown to a team of 51, and has expectations of reaching €6 million (US$7.14 million) in sales, as it is being sold through multiple international European retail chains, and expects to be sold on the U.S. market by the end of this year.

The capital from this investment will enable Genuine Coconut, with assistance from Unigrains and MCH, to consolidate its position on the European market, accelerate international development, and realize its ambitious growth strategy.

“The Iberian Capital Fund and our partnership with MCH Private Equity represent a key step in Unigrains’ internationalization,” said Jean-François Laurain, CEO, Unigrains. “The investment in Genuine Coconut perfectly illustrates our mission: to provide Spanish and Portuguese agri-food and agro-industry companies the same financial and industry expertise that has accompanied the development of more than 1,000 companies in France over the past 50 years.”

A Global Eye

Historically, Unigrains had largely focused their investment attention on the French market.

Most recently, investments in this space by the firm include Céréa Capital – a Paris-based equity firm focused on raising, managing, and advising funds involved in buy-outs and mezzanine and debt financing in the agribusiness sector – completed a double closing in January of this year with a total value of €425 million (US$449 million).

Sixteen percent of the capital raised was committed by Unigrains, supporting Céréa Capital II in surpassing its target of €200 million (US$211 million) to close at €225 million (US$238 million), and outsized its predecessor, Fund I, by 70 percent.

Unigrains, however, has been crossing borders in recent years and expanding its investment scope to a global scale. In April of this year, the firm provided growth capital to Italy’s Sfoglia Torino in support of that company’s strategic growth plan to consolidate the frozen puff pastry sector.

With the help of the undisclosed investment, Sfoglia Torino was able to acquire 100 percent of Idea Quick Srl, an Italian frozen puff pastry producer, marking the latest transaction under Sfoglia Torino’s strategic expansion plan launched in February 2017 by company CEO Enzo Perrino, and follows closely after Sfoglia Torino’s acquisition of Righi Srl – a leading producer and distributor of frozen savory pies and puff pastry snacks.

More recently, in July of this year, Unigrains was an investor along with Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, Tenasek, and sugar group Tereos in a $170 million round for the malting subsidiary of Axereal Group – Boortmalt.

The capital will be used by the business to increase production capacity, lift export volumes from Belgium, and to support the business in its goal of becoming directly involved in the production of barley and malt in emerging markets such as Africa and Asia.

Although Unigrains is looking toward the future with a global eye, through the Iberian Capital Fund, Unigrains plans a continued expansion of its investment presence in Spain and Portugal.

“The investment in Genuine Coconut is going to be the first of a series of investments that will position the Unigrains-MCH fund as the leading Iberian investor in the agri-food industry,”  said Francisco Caro, partner at MCH and manager of Unigrains Iberian Capital Fund.

-Lynda Kiernan