AgriFORCE Growing Systems has entered into a letter of intent to acquire Berry People for $28 million. The acquisition will see AgriFORCE pay $18.2 million in cash and $9.8 million in restricted shares to reach 70 percent of Berry People’s equity interests.
Berry People, founded in 2017, is a platform that aims to satisfy the need for a year-round supply of organic & traditional berries. In addition, the company vows further to expand backward integration into farming production via joint ventures & deploys its licensed IP as part of a scalable franchising model. With the acquisition, Berry People claims that it will have the opportunity for future earnings during the five years after closing based on EBITDA targets associated with agreed-upon growth targets.
Mauro Pennella, President of AgriFORCE Brands, commented on the announcement, “We are very excited to announce the LOI with Berry People! The AgriFORCE Brands division strives to offer consumers nutritious food and plant-based products, both in terms of better grains and pulses with UN(THINK) and fresh and nutritious berries, thanks to this LOI.”
Berry People established a worldwide brand and scalable operations, composing over 200 retail and food service clients, growers, and exporter clients across the Americas. Berry People had unaudited net revenues of $37M for the year ended Dec. 31, 2022.
AgriFORCE commented that the acquisition strengthened the AgriFORCE Brands division and allowed it to yield commercial synergies with UN(THINK). In addition, it aims to innovate specialty flour and grain-based products.
Berry People CEO, Jerald Downs, said, “We are thrilled to join AgriFORCE as we align on the company’s vision and strategy.”
The acquisition by AgriFORCE Growing Systems is considered a strategic move enabling both companies to develop backward integration into agricultural production further and deploy licensed and developed IP as part of a scalable franchising model. In addition, the acquisition also allows AgriFORCE to bolster its AgriFORCE Brands division and to realize commercial synergies with UN(THINK).
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
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