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Fresh fruit and vegetable grower Costa Group’s former majority owner, US private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners, has snatched a 13.8 per cent stake worth nearly $161 million in the company overnight and intends to up its stake even further.
Paine Schwartz signalled its plan to increase its stake to 15 per cent, at $2.60 a share, and gain a seat on its board, Costa said in a statement to the ASX.
US private equity firm Paine Schwartz intends to increase its stake in avocado grower Costa.
“At this stage, the shareholding is seen as a long-term investment and Paine Schwartz has no current intention of making an offer to acquire control of [Costa],” the statement said.
The share price of the $1.2 billion Australian grower shot up by more than 11 per cent to $2.48 at around 2.30pm on Wednesday after the announcement. Since the beginning of the year, Costa’s share price has slid by more than 20 per cent following the impact of a national oversupply of avocado and La Nina-triggered rain bombs that damaged oranges crops.
Shares were hammered again after Costa chief executive Sean Hallahan’s resignation last month was poorly received by investors, some taking it as a “pretty alarming signal”. Former CEO and non-executive board director Harry Debney stepped into take his place as interim chief.
Paine Schwartz are former majority owners of Costa and held a 50 per cent stake when it helped the company float on the ASX in 2015 at $2.25 a share. At that point, Paine Schwartz reduced its interest to 12.2 per cent.
Paine Schwartz founder and president Kevin Schwartz held a seat on Costa’s board after the IPO, before resigning in February 2019. The US equity firm will need to secure approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board if it wishes to gain a seat on the board again.
Costa Group is Australia’s largest horticulture grower, encompassing berries, mushrooms, glasshouse tomatoes and citrus as well as avocados, and was founded in 1888. Costa has an international footprint, including China and Morocco, and has called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for assistance pushing into the Japanese market.
Paine Schwartz Partners invests in companies in the global food chain, with a focus on the global food and agribusiness sectors. It has offices in New York and San Mateo, California.