CARY, N.C. and KENTLAND, Ind., Sept. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Verdesian Life Sciences, LLC (“Verdesian”), a Paine & Partners, LLC (“Paine & Partners”) company, today announced that it has acquired INTX Microbials, LLC, (“INTX”) a world-class provider of inoculant, seed treatment, and biological growth enhancement products. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

INTX’s innovative products are used in agricultural crops including soybeans, pulse and forage crops, specialty crops and cereals. INTX’s inoculant, seed treatment, and biological growth enhancement products, which include both conventional as well as OMRI-certified products, align well with Verdesian’s portfolio of plant health, biological and nutrition offerings. With manufacturing capabilities in Kentland, IN, and Wichita, KS, INTX has a strong track record of producing high quality product solutions for its customers.

“We are pleased with the acquisition of INTX, which further builds out Verdesian’s leading portfolio of plant health and nutrition products and is a key step in our long-term growth strategy,” said JJ Grow, Verdesian Chief Executive Officer. “The addition of INTX allows us to offer our customers a broader range of solutions by giving them access to a full line of technology-driven seed treatment and inoculant products. INTX has a reputation for high quality products and very high standards of service. We look forward to working with the INTX team to deliver significant value to our customers.”

“We are excited to become part of Verdesian Life Sciences, which has the resources and experience to enhance our ability to grow,” said INTX founder Michael Blanding. “Joining forces with Verdesian will enable us to continue developing innovative products to meet our customers’ changing needs. We are confident that the Verdesian platform will help expand our specialized business, drive sales growth and enhance our marketing capabilities.”

INTX will operate independently as a subsidiary of Verdesian for the remainder of 2013 and will transition into Verdesian in 2014.

About INTX Microbials
Founded in 2002 by Mike Blanding and Curtis Jennings, Kentland, Indiana-based INTX Microbials, LLC specializes in the research, production, and marketing of seed inoculants, biological growth enhancement products, and water conditioning adjuvants. INTX is a world-class leader in the evolving market of seed enhancement products, producing the latest technologies available and giving the customer a competitive edge in the marketplace.

About Verdesian Life Sciences, LLC
Verdesian focuses on investments in plant health, inoculants, seed treatment, and nutrition. Established in September 2012 by Paine & Partners, a global private equity investment firm that specializes in the food and agribusiness industry, Verdesian acquired Biagro Western Sales, LLC, a leader in patent-protected technologies for developing plant health and plant nutrition products, in September 2012; Northwest Agricultural Products, a world-class provider of specialty agriculture products, in February 2013; and Plant Syence, a European based marketer and manufacturer of nutritional solutions for the European market, in April 2013. Further information about Verdesian is available at www.VLSci.com.

About Paine & Partners, LLC
Paine & Partners provides equity capital for management buyouts, going private transactions, and company expansion and growth programs. Paine & Partners engages exclusively in friendly transactions developed in cooperation with a company’s management, board of directors and shareholders. The firm currently makes investments through its $1.2 billion fund, Paine & Partners Capital Fund III, L. P. and related entities.

Paine & Partners focuses on the food and agribusiness industry globally, and its principals, through a predecessor fund, have made successful strategic investments in Seminis, then the world’s leading global developer, producer and marketer of vegetable and fruit seeds; and Advanta Netherlands Holdings BV, at the time, the largest independent agronomic seed company in the world. Paine & Partners also invested in Icicle Seafoods, a leading producer, harvester and processer of salmon, pollock, halibut, cod, crab and other seafood products with operations in North and South America and sales globally. Paine & Partners’ most recent investments include Sunrise Growers~Frozsun Foods, a leading value-added frozen fruit processor and marketer; Eurodrip, a global manufacturer and supplier of drip irrigation solutions; Verdesian Life Sciences, LLC, a U.S.-based plant health and nutrition investment platform; Scanbio Marine Group, a leading Norwegian producer of fish protein concentrate, fish meal, and fish oil; and Costa Group, Australia’s largest integrated grower, packer and marketer of fresh fruits and vegetables. The complex investment opportunities in today’s rapidly evolving agribusiness environment play to the strengths of Paine & Partners’ differentiated approach. For further information, see www.painepartners.com.

Contacts:

For Verdesian:
Erika Canady
(919) 523-7764
Erika.canady@ariosocomm.com

For Paine & Partners:
Andy Brimmer / Aaron Palash / Bryan Darrow
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
212-355-4449

SOURCE Verdesian Life Sciences, LLC