AgriFORCE Growing Systems announces binding LOI to acquire Berry People

AgriFORCE Growing Systems announced it has entered into a binding letter of intent, LOI, to acquire Berry People, a berry business with an increasingly international footprint and a scalable platform model. The acquisition bolsters the AgriFORCE Brands division and allows the Company to realize commercial synergies with UN(THINK), which aims at innovating in the specialty flour and grain-based products categories. The LOI sets forth a purchase price of $28M, consisting of $18.2M in cash and $9.8M in AgriFORCE restricted shares, will be paid at closing to acquire 70% of Berry People’s equity interests. Berry People will have the opportunity for future earnouts during the five years after closing based on future revenue and EBITDA targets associated with agreed upon growth targets. Mauro Pennella, President of AgriFORCE Brands, said, "We are very excited to announce the LOI with Berry People, which is a thriving business with promising growth opportunities. The AgriFORCE Brands division offers better and more nutritious food and plant-based products to today’s consumers, both in the form of better grains and pulses with UN(THINK), and now in terms of fresh and nutritious berries." Pennella continued, "We aim to maximize commercial synergies between Berry People and UN(THINK), in terms of distribution, to retail, foodservice and other areas. We anticipate that the additional volume coming in the next year from their new grower relationships in Mexico should drive robust growth in 2023. Furthermore, we see a great fit with Delphy, given their well-established soft fruit and CEA advisory business, as well as their advanced R&D capabilities, which will work with Berry People and its grower-operators to drive increased yields and improved quality, enhance farm operations, and support the deployment of new varietals, fortifying Berry People’s vertical integration and growth plans."