Champaign, Illinois USA
January 11, 2023
Globalization has rapidly accelerated in the food and agriculture industry during the last decade, which has been amplified by technology and consolidation of the supply chain via M&A. At Verdant, we believe that the connectivity and interdependence of our industry is here to stay, and that industry participants will look to extend their geographical presence and vertically integrate across the value chain. As global consolidation continues, we recognize the need to further strengthen our core deal team and further expand our international presence and knowledge of emerging segments to better serve our clients. Accordingly, we are pleased to announce developments of the Verdant team and advisory network that occurred during 2022.
During the past year, Verdant has formed Strategic Alliances to better serve the growing Brazilian and broader LATAM markets, as well as the biotechnology and biologicals segments. Additionally, we have bolstered our competencies in the North American and European digital and precision technology sectors. Verdant’s new Advisors and Strategic Alliances represent our firm’s commitment to providing the highest level of service to the ever-evolving global food and agribusiness industry, particularly in areas that provide great potential for strategic consolidation and partnerships.
Last summer, Verdant welcomed Shane Thomas to its Advisory team to leverage his unique perspective through his experiences across the North American agronomy, retail, supply management, and technology sectors. Mr. Thomas' broad experiences will help enhance value for Verdant's current and future clients. Mr. Thomas is based in Alberta, Canada and currently serves as the Vice President of Strategy for AgVend, and operates Upstream Ag, a media and consulting company for the global agriculture and technology segment. Previously, he worked in agronomy with G-Mac's; held marketing, distribution, and agronomy positions with Richardson International; and was responsible for global business development with Farmers Edge.
Shane Thomas joined Verdant as an Advisor
Over the course of the past six years, Verdant has maintained an important relationship with Luis Casanova and Felipe Lanusse, principals at Agrifex S.A.S. Mr. Casanova and Mr. Lanusse have represented Verdant as Advisors during this period and will now transition their relationship with Verdant from Advisors into a Strategic Alliance between Verdant and Agrifex. Verdant will continue to actively work with Mr. Lanusse and Mr. Casanova on existing mandates and will further develop M&A opportunities with Agrifex going forward.
Verdant and Agrifex solidified their relationship through a Strategic Alliance in Argentina
Verdant also formed a Strategic Alliance with Silveira Capital in Brazil for M&A representation. Silveira specializes in the sale of large agribusiness, mining, and infrastructure assets, such as farms, forestry assets, mineral reserves and port terminals, especially those for agricultural or mineral commodities. Through this relationship, Verdant and Silveira will bring added value to companies seeking partnerships, sell-side, or buy-side advisory in the LATAM agriculture markets.
Verdant and Silveira Capital formed a Strategic Alliance to expand LATAM capabilities
In January 2022, Verdant further expanded its professional team with the addition of Patrick Honcoop as an Advisor. Mr. Honcoop has a strong background in corporate strategy and M&A with sector expertise in the equipment and precision technology segments of North America and Europe. Mr. Honcoop is a native of the Netherlands and lived in Germany for several years before moving to the US in early 2020. He currently operates a boutique consultancy firm ‘AgTech-Pro’ and is a partner at the AgTech Transformation initiative ‘PHAEN.’ Prior to his current roles, he created and executed the digital strategy for CLAAS in North America and co-created Europe’s leading farm management ecosystem, 365FarmNet. Mr. Honcoop will support Verdant's growing presence and clientele in the global precision and digital technology and equipment sectors.
Patrick Honcoop joined Verdant as an Advisor
In an effort to better represent clients in the growing biological and biotechnology segment, Verdant and DnA Advisory Services formed a Strategic Alliance effective May 2022.
Graeme McCracken joined Verdant as an Advisor
Verdant is also excited to announce the promotion of the firm's principals and addition to its deal team based in Champaign, IL.
Effective January 2023, Blake Croegaert was named a Partner at Verdant. Mr. Croegaert joined the firm in 2014 and will continue to be based in the company’s Champaign, IL headquarters. Mr. Croegaert brings a decade’s worth of professional industry experience to Verdant’s team and will continue to deliver exemplary service to clients in his new role. Mr. Croegaert holds a degree in Agricultural Accounting from the University of Illinois.
Blake Croegaert named a Partner of Verdant
Verdant is also pleased to announce the promotion of Andrew Johnson to Senior Associate as of January 2023. Mr. Johnson joined Verdant in 2020. Prior to Verdant, Mr. Johnson held positions with Compeer Financial and Centrec Consulting Group. He holds a degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois.
Andrew Johnson promoted to Senior Associate at Verdant
Verdant is delighted to welcome Max Bedeker as an Associate to its team of principals. Mr. Bedeker holds a degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois and has prior experience with ADM in accounting. Mr. Bedeker has a background in production agriculture and brings domain expertise to Verdant in addition to his financial and analytical skills.
Max Bedeker has joined Verdant as an Associate
The past year has been busy for the Verdant team, and we are looking forward to a productive 2023. Verdant and its team of Advisors and Strategic Alliance partners remain committed to transaction advisory and consulting services across the food and agriculture value chain. For more information about our business, team, or markets, please visit our website. We look forward to building upon our great history working with quality people and businesses dedicated to feeding and fueling the planet.
About Agrifex
From Agrifex, we provide financial services with an exclusive focus on the Agricultural sector. We focus on two main axes: Corporate Finance and Capital Markets; on which we comprehensively address the dimensions of Investment and Financing. With a boutique profile, we provide tailor-made solutions for each of our clients. Among them, we have worked for investment funds, family offices, individual investors and agricultural companies. From our headquarters in Buenos Aires, we maintain relationships with clients in various countries of South America with a greater degree of interaction towards Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay.
About Silveira Capital
At Silveira, we are specialists in the sale of large agribusiness assets, mining and infrastructure, such as farms, forestry assets, mineral reserves and port terminals, especially those for agricultural or mineral commodities. Our expertise is in connecting business opportunities to financial capital; combining technology, innovation capacity and strategic vision.
About DnA Advisory Services
DnA Advisory Services is focused on helping clients in the biotech, food and agriculture sector solve everyday business challenges. DnA's principals bring a multi-disciplinary approach to analyze problems and deliver actionable outputs that have a direct and positive impact on their client's business. DnA aligns itself with their clients to collectively achieve objectives with the highest level of care and diligence.
Verdant Partners is wholly focused on the food and agribusiness industries. We advise buyers and sellers through the business transactions that shape the competitive landscape of our industry. We have built a team of professionals with real world industry experience, having developed skills that extend beyond those of traditional M&A advisors. For this reason, we are recognized as the leading transaction advisory group for the global food and agribusiness industry. For further information, please visit our website.
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