Food and agriculture investment manager Cibus Capital has acquired Dutch fruit and vegetable sorting technology firm Aweta from Standard Investment on behalf of Cibus Fund II.
The manager has invested an unspecified sum on behalf of Cibus Fund II to acquire the business generating $85m in annual revenue with more than 250 employees across the Netherlands, Italy and the US.
Aweta designs, assembles and services automated sorting, grading and packing equipment used across more than 50 countries, with a primary focus on greenhouse produce.
Rob Appleby, CIO at Cibus Capital, said: “Labour scarcity is one of the defining challenges in global food and agriculture, putting real pressure on producers already operating on thin margins.Aweta is a leading provider of automated sorting and packing solutions.
“Partnering with them allows us to help customers raise productivity across the supply chain without compromising jobs that require human judgement and care. With this transaction, we now back six robotics and automation businesses that are quietly reshaping how food is produced and we see Aweta as a key piece in the puzzle.”
Filipe Oliveira da Silva, CEO at Aweta, said: “This is an exciting phase for Aweta. After several years of a fabulous cooperation with Standard Investment, we now look forward to working together with such a reputable partner as Cibus to continue to grow the company.
“This partnership will allow us to deliver value-add to all our customers by speeding our innovation and technological long-term ambitions.”
Standard Investment had been a shareholder of Aweta since 2013.
Guido Grobbink, partner at Standard Investment, said: “Following a successful period of ownership, we are proud to hand Aweta over to Cibus, who we believe is the right partner to support the company’s next phase of growth.
“Through Standard Investment’s hands-on approach, together with management, we have strengthened the organisation and built a robust platform ready to scale.”
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