Greenyard to sell its horticulture division for 120m euros

Greenyard has agreed to sell its horticulture division to Belgian investment group Straco for €120 million, as Greenyard aims to focus on its Fresh and Long Fresh segments and deleverage its balance sheet.

Greenyard Horticulture supplies materials such as soil for consumers who want to grow crops such as mushrooms, fruit and vegetables, and is one of the largest suppliers of horticultural goods in Belgium, France, Poland and Ukraine.

The sale comes after a difficult year for Greenyard, which saw its total sales fall 1.7%, and the company said that the divestment will allow it to repay a €150 million retail bond, which will need to be paid by July 2019.

Straco will acquire all assets of Greenyard Horticulture as a result of the agreement, including its 14 production facilities located throughout Europe and Russia.

Hein Deprez, Greenyard’s CEO said: “We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Straco for the divestment of our Horticulture segment.

“Straco shares our belief in the importance of good quality substrates and growing media to secure sustainable and healthy fruit and vegetables in the future. As such, we are convinced that Straco will be a good home for our Horticulture segment.

“Today, our focus is needed on improving profitability again and on deleveraging our balance sheet.

“In our two other segments (Fresh and Long Fresh), our strategy to build strong relationships with its customers remains intact. We remain keen on cooperating with growers and retailers to develop with them new concepts that create value for all parties in the chain.

“This reorientation towards our Fresh and Long Fresh segments will allow more focused management’s attention and a faster implementation of impactful operational improvement actions for internal profitable growth.

“We feel that this divestment is an important step towards a stronger Greenyard. Furthermore, the divestment of the Horticulture segment, in combination with the agreement with the lenders and the ongoing deleveraging and improvement plans, will secure Greenyard of the necessary means for the repayment of the retail bond in the summer of next year.”