Holde Agri Invest acquires Agromix Buciumeni

Holde Agri Invest acquires Agromix Buciumeni, a Romanian company with almost 30 years experience in agriculture

Bucharest, 23 April 2020 – Holde Agri Invest SA, a Romanian farmland operator announces it has signed an agreement for the acquisition of Agromixt Buciumeni, a Romanian company established in 1991 that operates farmland in the Calarasi county. The transaction will result in Holde Agri Invest operating over 7,000 hectares of land. 

The acquisition of Agromixt Buciumeni represents a strategic investment for Holde Agri Invest, which will list in the coming months on the AeRO market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange under the HAI symbol. In 2019, Agromixt had 21 employees, revenues of over 20 million lei and a net profit of 5 million lei. Being a mature and profitable company, Agromixt brings a new nucleus to Holde Agri Invest, namely the farm in the Calarasi county. The farm distinguishes itself with a compact size and high-quality soil. Additionally, rapeseed and soybean, which is cultivated on the Agromixt farm each year will complement the current list of crops that are grown on Holde’s farms.  

“We are pleased about the acquisition of Agromixt Buciumeni because we consider this investment as of strategic importance for Holde. Following this transaction, Holde boasts over 7,000 hectares of operated land, a milestone that we have promised to our investors who participated in our private placement in December 2019. While in the next coming period, our priority will be integrating Agromixt into Holde and our business philosophy, we are already considering the next financing rounds that we plan to realize in the Romanian capital market. We consider financing with the help of stock exchange mechanisms as an extremely effective way that will help turn Holde from an agricultural start-up to a player of reference on the local agri-sector” said Liviu Zagan, CEO at Holde Agri Invest.

Holde’s newest acquisition was financed partially with capital raised during the private placement of Holde Shares that took place in December 2019, and partly with debt financing. The transaction was split into two steps. Currently, Holde Agri Invest has a 30% stake in the company, and in the next months, the remaining 70% of shares will be transferred to Holde. Following the acquisition of Agromixt Buciumeni, Holde Agri Invest reaches 7,000 hectares of operated land and 55 employees across the company’s primary locations as well as in the Shared Services Centre in Bucharest. Apart from the newly acquired farm in Calarasi, Holde Agri Invest also operates a farm in Roșiorii de Vede vicinity as well as owns a silo de 10.000 tones located in Călinești. 

Holde Agri Invest was determined to close the transaction irrespective of the current context of COVID-19 outbreak in Romania as the demand for agricultural production remains unchanged, and farming companies need to ensure business continuity. Food and agriculture are critical infrastructure in the time of the unprecedented public health concern caused by the coronavirus, and a fully functioning food system is now more than ever crucial to the national health and well-being. 

Holde’s goal is to become one of the most prominent Romanian players on the local agricultural market, reaching a minimum of 20,000 hectares of cultivated land within the next ten years. To achieve this objective, Holde aims to invest over 50 million euros and to promote and develop a modern agricultural business where efficiency and operational excellence are the main drivers of the results. Alongside the acquisition of Agromixt, Holde plans to continue its investments in new machinery, storage facilities as well as modern irrigation systems.

The concept for Holde was invented in 2016 by four Romanian entrepreneurs, Liviu Zagan, Robert Maxim, Matei Georgescu, and Alexandru Covrig. In 2017, the founders joined forces with the team from a local asset management company, Certinvest and together, in 2018, they established the innovative business model behind Holde Agri Invest SA. Soon after, Holde received the first external investment from Vertical Severn Group, a fund established by Romanian entrepreneurs Iulian Cîrciumaru and Andrei Cretu. After closing private placement for its shares in December 2019, Holde Agri Invest SA has 52 shareholders. Vertical Seven Group remains the biggest shareholder of Holde, having a 19,6% stake while remaining investors have holdings between 9% and 0,1% in the business. The business model envisages that no single shareholder holds a majority stake in the company.