Ropes & Gray has advised Partners Group – a global private markets investment manager – on its acquisition of a major equity stake in Rovensa, a Portuguese-headquartered provider of specialty crop nutrition, biocontrol and protection products, from Bridgepoint. The transaction values Rovensa at an enterprise value of around EUR1 billion.
Rovensa’s portfolio of agricultural solutions and technologies helps farmers to enhance crop yields and provide food security. Founded in 1926, Rovensa has three divisions: BioNutrition, which provides agricultural crops with nutrients for growth and healthy development; Crop Protection, which eliminates or prevents biological threats in crops; and BioControl, which offers products based on biological inputs, such as plant extracts and micro-organisms. Rovensa specialises in formulating sustainable products which reduce the environmental impact of agriculture, combat its contribution to climate change and support the cultivation of healthy food. Its products are sold in more than 70 countries and generate an annual revenue of approximately EUR 360 million.
The Ropes & Gray team was led by private equity transaction partners John Newton and Kiran Sharma in London. Other members of the team included tax partner Andrew Howard and litigation & enforcement partner Amanda Raad, alongside litigation & enforcement counsel Paige Berges and private equity associates Laura Kayani, Matthew Martindale, Hayley Stokes and trainee Kwasi Yeboah. All are based in London.
Ropes & Gray worked alongside leading Iberian law firm, Cuatrecasas, on the deal. The Cuatrecasas team, which advised Partners Group on all the Portuguese and Spanish law aspects of the transaction was led by mergers & acquisitions partner Mariana Norton dos Reis.
