Deals

Advantage Capital leads $12m investment in organic herbs producer

ACAP made investment into a certified organic herbs producer alongside food and agriculture equity groups Middleland Capital and S2G Ventures.

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Fresh sage, thyme and rosemary from the vegetable garden, ready to be used.

Advantage Capital Agribusiness Partners (ACAP) has led a $12million investment in Shenandoah Growers, a producer and supplier of live potted and fresh-cut herbs to US food retailers.

Food and agri venture firms Middleland Capital and S2G Ventures invested alongside ACAP.

“This important investment allows us to expand our use of state-of-the-art greenhouses in Virginia, as well as deploy proprietary new technologies and grow innovations across all of our multi-regional operations,” Timothy Heydon, president and chief executive at Shenandoah Growers, said in a statement.

Founded in 1990, the company has grown from a single packaging facility and now operates over 260,000 square feet of greenhouses, with facilities in Virginia, Indiana, Georgia and Texas.

ACAP is a $154.5 million fund backed by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC). The fund has made five investments since inception, most recently investing $7 million in Pacific Ag.

Recently, Middleland Capital led a $7.3 million series round into Benson Hill Biosystems and joined Cultivation Sandbox and ARCH Venture Partners to invest in Agrivide, a US company developing enzyme solutions for the animal nutrition market.