Icon Private Equity transfers Agrika company to Sintal agroholding in exchange for 6% of shares
Kyiv, October 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Sintal Agriculture agroholding has finalized a deal on the merger of the Agrika agricultural company (Kherson region), which is part of the investment portfolio of Icon Private Equity, representatives of Sintal Agriculture said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.
They said that the company was acquired through the exchange of shares: the agroholding has become the owner of a 100% stake in Agrika, and Icon Private Equity obtained a 6% stake of additionally issued shares in Sintal Agriculture Public Limited.
Icon Private Equity also issued an $8 million convertible credit to Sintal. If Icon Private Equity realizes an option for convention, its share in the company could rise to 10.8%.
After the deal, the agroholding's land bank increased by 1.5 times, to 150,000 hectares.
"We had a rather good stake in Kherson region, and now we've increased it almost by the same size… so thanks to the effect of scale, we will be able to reduce cash costs and become a more competitive company," Sintal Agriculture Director General Vadym Mohyla said.
He added that land bought from Icon Private Equity is 85% prepared for crop sowing, and now the sowing plan is to include winter wheat, winter barley, winter rapeseeds and sunflower seeds.
"The land stake is located close to the Northern-Crimean elevator belonging to Sintal," he said.
Visum Capital Investment Company was an advisor in the deal for Sintal, and Dragon Capital was an advisor for Icon Private Equity.
Sintal Agriculture was set up in 2008. Its parent company is Kharkiv-based Sintal D LLC research and production firm, which has been operating in Ukraine since 1992.
Sintal Agriculture leases over 100,000 hectares of farm land in Kharkiv and Kherson regions. It cultivates wheat, maize, sunflower seeds, barley, sugar beet, buckwheat, soybeans, peas, and other crops. It owns two sugar refineries, a pig farm, and 16 agribusinesses.