Brazilian plant nutrition buy for ICL

Israel’s ICL has agreed to acquire Fertiláqua, one of Brazil’s largest speciality plant nutrition companies from private equity firm Aqua Capital for about $120 million. The company said that this will expand its portfolio and significantly enhance its customer base and presence across agriculture regions in Brazil.

Raviv Zoller, president and CEO, called the buy “an important part of the growth strategy of our crop nutrition business”, whose planned growth, “both organically and through M&A, will be supported, in part, by increased demand for high-end specialty fertilisers and our focus on growth markets.”

Fertiláqua is active in 24 Brazilian states, with over 500 customers at all stages of the crop production chain. It has over 350 employees, two production sites and two R&D centres, and has achieved a compound annual growth rate of over 15% since its foundation in 2013.

The deal, which is expected to close in early 2021, brings ICL over 100 different products, including the Aminoagro, Dimicron and Maximus brands. These are used for plant nutrition and stimulation, soil revitalisation, seed treatment and plant health across all major Brazilian crops, including soybeans, corn, sugarcane, cotton, coffee, fruits and vegetables