ICL (TASE: ICL: NYSE: ICL) (formerly Israel Chemicals) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Aqua Capital, an agri-tech and food focused private equity firm, to acquire Brazilian specialty plan nutrition (organic fertilizers) company Agro Fertilaqua Participações S.A. The $120 million acquisition will expand ICL's specialty plant nutrition product portfolio and significantly enhance its customer base and on-ground presence across agriculture regions in Brazil, one of the world’s fastest growing agriculture markets.
Fertilaqua provides a complete portfolio of plant life-cycle solutions for plant nutrition and stimulation, soil revitalization, seed treatment and plant health across all major Brazilian crops, including soybeans, corn, sugarcane, cotton, coffee, fruits and vegetables, with over 100 different products.
Fertiláqua has over 500 customers in 24 Brazilian states, including ag-input retailers, cooperatives and large farms. Fertiláqua has over 350 employees, two production sites and two R&D centers. Since its inception, Fertiláqua has demonstrated strong growth and achieved a compounded annual growth rate of over 15%.
Israel Chemicals says it expects the deal to close in early 2021.
ICL will leverage Fertiláqua’s strong market presence and distribution capabilities to increase the sales of its organic fertilizers, controlled-released fertilizers and other specialty plant nutrition products to the Brazilian market.
ICL president and CEO Raviv Zoller said, "The acquisition of Fertiláqua is an important part of the growth strategy of our crop nutrition business. As we stated during our recent Investor Day , the expected growth of our crop nutrition business, both organically and through M&A, will be supported, in part, by increased demand for high-end specialty fertilizers and our focus on growth markets. Fertiláqua gives ICL a significant foothold in a major market, where demand growth for specialty plant nutrition products is increasing rapidly. In addition, it unlocks immediate synergies for distribution in Brazil and further expands ICL's product portfolio with higher growth, higher margin products, as well as provides balance for seasonality in our specialty fertilizer sales between the Northern and Southern hemispheres."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 26, 2020
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