November 1, 2019

By Lynda Kiernan

Spain’s Miura Private Equity announced the launch of Frutas, the largest agribusiness fund in the EU, at EUR 350 million (US$391 million). 

The fund comes less than a year after Miura’s Fund III closed at EUR 330 million ($368.5 million) in January, and has hit its funding, committed by European and American institutional investors including Morgan Stanley and Schroder Adveq, in only three months.

Frutas was launched with a targeted purpose: as the foundation for a new fruit platform to provide support for 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.

It also has been announced that Cirti & Co has gone on to acquire 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.

Founded in the 1960s, Frutas Esther has two production plants located in Abarán (Murcia) and Cartaya (Huelva). Its business mainly exports to the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and other Nordic countries, and posts annual turnover of approximately EUR 75 million (US$83.7 million). And although this tie-in with Citiri & Co will allow Frutas Esther to capitalize on synergies and to strengthen its position in the Spanish fruit and vegetable sector, the company will continue to maintain its autonomy and operational processes. 

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.

“Additionally, the shareholding reinforcement with the entry of Frutas and Miura Fund III, allows Citri & Co and Frutas Esther to guarantee the development of a new stage of growth and consolidation worldwide for the coming years.”

– 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.