ACP partially exits Spearhead to JTZE

Ero Partsakoulaki
11 January 2023

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Accession Capital Partners has realized an early partial exit of its investment in data-driven agribusiness Spearhead.

The divestment of the business's Czech and Slovak operations to Prague-headquartered strategic investor JTZE group (J&T Zemědělství a Ekologie) takes place just one year after ACP (formerly Mezzanine Management) acquired the business, according to a press release.

The divestment provides a strong return for ACP, which will retain a stake in Spearhead's Polish, Romanian and UK businesses, it said. The Czech and Sovak parts accounted for approximately 40% of the overall business, so ACP remains the majority shareholder in the company, Przemysław Głębocki, managing partner at ACP, told Unquote.

The GP was approached by the buyer and decided to proceed with the divestment as JTZE group is a great fit for the Czech and Slovak markets, he said.

The firm originally bought the company from Paine Schwartz Partners in January 2022 via its Accession Mezzanine Capital IV fund as it was strongly positioned to take advantage of the industry trends of food traceability and tightening food specifications, said Głębocki. Following the war in Ukraine, food security only became an even greater issue revealing further growth opportunities, he added.

Fund IV will soon be fully deployed, said Głębocki, without disclosing further information.

Spearhead will continue to work with the Czech and Slovak businesses in terms of know-how and technology as well as client relationships, according to the press release.

ACP held a EUR 90m first close in July 2022 for ACP Credit Fund I, its debut central Europe-focused credit fund and is on the road for Accession Mezzanine Capital V (AMC Capital V). The vehicle was registered with the Luxembourg Registry in February 2022. The fund will follow its predecessor's strategies and provide mezzanine financing to small-cap, mid-market as well as growth businesses in central Europe, according to Unquote Data.

Company
Spearhead is a vertically integrated food and agriculture businesses operating in Europe. The company manages 83,000 hectares of farmland across Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and the UK, where it company started more than 50 years ago. It is harnessing data it collects through its application of technologies for precision farming. Spearhead specializes in specialty crops catering to food processing businesses in Europe.

People
ACP − Przemysław Głębocki (managing partner).
Spearhead Group − Tomasz Zdziebkowski (CEO).
JTZE − Dusan Palcr (chairman if J&T board)

Advisers
Vendor − Bird & Bird (legal).