FAIRFIELD, Iowa and BOLOGNA, Italy, Dec. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — The Global ID Group (“Global ID” or “the Company”), a Paine Schwartz Partners, LLC portfolio company and a market leading platform dedicated to providing food safety and food quality solutions, today announced that it has acquired Bioagricert, a leading certification and control body company based in Bologna, Italy. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1984, Bioagricert provides organic certification services according to Italian national and international standards, as well as product quality certification services and other certifications such as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographic Indication (PGI), GlobalG.A.P., natural cosmetics and textiles, green energy, fair trade and more. Bioagricert certifies about 11,500 operators in Italy and 1,500 internationally, including in Latin America, Southeast Asia, the Mediterranean Basin and Eastern Europe. The company also aids in the development of new certification standards in Italy and internationally. On completion, Riccardo Cozzo, Managing Director of Bioagricert, will lead Bioagricert’s international business while Alessandro Lombardi, Head of Bioagricert’s Agribusiness, will assume leadership of Italy under Global ID. The rest of Bioagricert’s executive team, Vito Russo and Federico Di Biase, will continue to play key roles in operating the business.

Brad Riemenapp, CEO of Global ID said, “The acquisition of Bioagricert is an exciting next step in Global ID’s continued strong growth and its leadership position in the food testing, inspection, certification and supply chain services market. Importantly, Bioagricert adds organic certification to our global suite of products and services, which will enable Global ID to offer a broader portfolio of solutions to our clients. Bioagricert has an excellent reputation and a growing customer base, which stem from its long history of certification leadership, and its in-depth understanding of the organic production chain. We believe there are significant opportunities to drive growth through our complementary service offerings on a global basis, most notably non-GMO certification, GlobalG.A.P. and our ProTerra sustainability program. We are enthusiastic about partnering with the Bioagricert team and expanding Global ID’s market-leading portfolio of food safety and quality solutions.”

The Bioagricert executive team of Lombardi, Cozzo, Di Biase and Russo agree that, “Consumers across the world are increasingly conscious about the quality and safety of their food and other products, and that joining with Global ID will enable us to better meet the growing global demand for organic and other certifications. Over the last thirty years, we have built Bioagricert into a leading and trusted certification body in Italy and across our markets internationally. We are confident that, working with the rest of the highly talented Global ID team, we will continue to drive growth and the execution of the Company’s strategy to expand our reach even further. We thank our employees, inspectors and partners for their continued hard work and commitment to providing our customers with the world class organic and product quality certification services they expect from us.”

About Global ID
Global ID Group companies provide integrated food safety and food quality solutions that address the challenges and opportunities in the rapidly evolving food industry. Serving more than 15,000 clients in over 100 countries with a market-leading portfolio of testing, inspection, certification, and consulting services, the Global ID Group helps companies navigate the increasingly regulated global food economy demanding higher levels of transparency, accountability, safety and sustainability.

About Paine Schwartz Partners
A global leader in sustainable food chain investing, Paine Schwartz Partners is a private equity firm that focuses on investment opportunities in the fast-growing, dynamic global food and agribusiness sectors. The firm’s investment, operations and finance professionals invest throughout cycles across the food and agribusiness value chain and bring a collaborative and active management approach to portfolio companies. The firm currently invests through its $893 million Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund IV, which is solely dedicated to food and agribusiness investing. For further information, see www.paineschwartz.com.

Contacts:
Andy Brimmer / Aaron Palash
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SOURCE Global ID Group