Belgium’s Ghent Integra Fund Invests EUR5M in Spanish Fruit Giant Citri & Co.

November 27, 2019

By Lynda Kiernan

Belgium’s Ghen Integra Fund has invested EUR5 million (US$5.5 million) in Spanish citrus and stone fruit giant, Citri & Co., to be used by the company to further expand its presence as a market leader across the EU. 

This investment is being deployed parallel to Spain’s Miura Private Equity’s launch earlier this month of the EUR350 million (US$391 million) Frutas. As the largest agribusiness fund in the EU, Frutas will operate with a targeted purpose as an investment vehicle to support Citri & Co. – a leading group in the production and marketing of citrus fruit formed in 2017 by Miura through investments in three companies – Martinavarro, Rio Tinto, and Perales & Ferrer.

At the same time as the launch of Frutas, it was also announced that Citri & Co had acquired an undisclosed stake in Frutas Esther, one of the leading European companies in the production and marketing of stone fruits, including peaches, nectarines, apricots, as well as seedless grapes, and strawberries.

The founding families of all four companies – Martinavarro, Rio Tinto, Perales & Ferrer, and Frutas Esther –  will be shareholders in the new platform, which now stands as one of the largest vertically integrated fruit platform in the world, controlling 11 packaging plants, and an annual turnover of nearly EUR 500 million (US$558.4 million).

“The new stage that opens in Citri & Co with the alliance with Frutas Esther is exciting to create one of the largest vertically integrated fruit groups in the world with about [EUR] 500 million turnover, and with a European leadership in the citrus and stone fruit sector, the two categories in which Spain leads exports worldwide,” said Jordi Alegre, partner, Miura at the time. 

Established just last year, Integra has a mixed local and international mandate to invest between EUR1 million (US1.1 million) and EUR15 million (US$16.5 million) in Belgian SMEs, but also to co-invest a minimum of EUR5 million (US$5.5 million) or more, alongside larger, international buy-out and growth funds, to offer investors the ideal balance of diversification and scalability.

 

– Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to the GAI News and Agtech Intel platforms. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.

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