Lariat Partners has made an investment in Willowood USA, a maker of generic crop protection products. The growth capital investment will be used by the company to fund an expansion of Willowood’s product portfolio and for market expansion.
“Lariat is providing the necessary growth capital to help Willowood make strategic hires, internally develop and opportunistically acquire new products, and enhance its sales and marketing efforts,” said Vijay Mundhra, Co-Founder of Willowood.
Willowood’s crop protection products include herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides that are used in the agriculture, turf and vegetation management industries. The company is based south of Portland in Roseburg, OR (www.willowoodusa.com).
Lariat invests in lower middle market companies that have EBITDA of $2 million to $20 million. The firm targets companies across a number of industries: food and agribusiness; energy and environmental services; consumer products; and maritime services. Lariat raised its first investment fund in July 2014 with $118 million of capital commitments. The firm was founded in January 2013 by Jay Coughlon and Kevin Mitchell and is based in Denver (www.lariatpartners.net).
“Crop protection is a sub-vertical within our food and agribusiness industry focus,” said Mr. Mitchell, Managing Partner of Lariat. “We have tracked crop protection companies for many years and based on our industry knowledge and research, our investment in Willowood’s future growth is a great fit for our CORE investment strategy.” The CORE strategy stands for COnsumables, COnsolidations, and REcurring Revenue.
“The investment that Lariat has made in our company will fuel our growth and presence in US agriculture,” said Brian Heinze, Willowood’s President and CEO. “We have experienced excellent growth over these past five years and this investment will ramp up our expansion and broaden our presence in markets that we have not yet penetrated.”
© 2016 Private Equity Professional • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 5-13-16
