Aqua Capital the Brazilian agribusiness private equity firm, has acquired tilapia producer GeneSeas, its fourth deal this year and the seventh from its 2013 fund.
GeneSeas currently has a 2 percent market share in tilapia production in Brazil, and with Aqua’s investment is targeting 5 percent by 2019.
“GeneSeas is widely recognized in the market, especially for its tilapia production, top quality, efficiency, and sustainable practices. Moreover, it has great potential for growth,” said Aqua Capital’s founding partner Sebastian Popik in a statement. The company also exports tilapia to the US and sells salmon in Brazil.
In the short term GeneSeas is planning to use the fresh investment to build a new packing plant and a new fattening unit by the Quitéria River, both located in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
The firm has had a busy year, first buying cold storage business Stock Tech Logística which it merged with portfolio company Comfrio Soluções Logísticas, creating Brazil’s largest cold storage business, in a deal worth $45 million. In April it acquired Grand Cru, the country’s largest wine store chain and a month later acquired fertiliser business Dimicron, which it merged with existing portfolio company Aminoagro.
The latest deal is the seventh from its 2013 vintage fund, a $173 million vehicle, which the firm told Agri Investor in January was 50 percent deployed.
Aqua Capital was founded in 2009 and has nearly R$650 million ($183million; €160 million) in assets under management.
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