Rovensa tipped for sale as PE owners weigh exit options

The specialty crop nutrition producer is 81%-owned by Partners Group and Bridgepoint in equal parts, said a fourth source. Rovensa's management owns 14% of the business, while the remaining 5% is held by the previous owners of Mexico's Cosmocel, which Rovensa agreed to acquire last year.

It is not clear whether both Partners and Bridgepoint would look to exit the asset, a fifth source said, noting that the latter is understood to be under more pressure to explore exit options.

Either way, no process has been decided on yet and no banks have been mandated, according to all sources who spoke to this news service on the matter. The fifth and a sixth source argued that a 2024 exit is more likely, as the company focuses on integrating its recent Mexico acquisition and on strengthening its US presence.

Should a sale process materialise, Rovensa is expected to be marketed off EUR 200m of forward looking EBITDA and a multiple around 15x multiple, according to a seventh and an eighth source. Including the Mexican acquisition, the business is expected to post an EBITDA of about EUR 170m in the fiscal year ending June 2023, the fourth source added.

Rovensa provides agricultural solutions for sustainable agriculture and consists of three business units: crop protection, bio nutrition and biocontrol. The biocontrol part is particularly valuable and is likely to command a double-digit EV/EBITDA multiple, while the bio nutrition business is also considered a good value-add, several of the sources said.

Founded in 1926, the Lisbon-based company operates across more than 35 countries, and has more than 1,700 employees.

Bridgepoint, Partners Group and Rovensa all declined to comment.

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