Kuwait’s Nox Management a subsidiary of Al Wafir Marketing Services, part of the Al Bahar group announced that it has realized a significant profit, after Kalera AS one of the fastest growing vertical farming companies in the world, announced that it has entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire &ever GmbH, a world leader in vertical farms producing leafy vegetables.
In a deal valued at Euro130 million, shareholders of &ever GmBH will receive shares in Kalera AS in addition to cash. Upon completion of the transaction, &ever will become wholly owned by Kalera AS, allowing for the consolidation of operations and resulting in the acceleration of its global expansion plans.
Commenting on the transaction, Daniel Malechuk, CEO of Kalera, said: “With Kalera’s farms in North America and &ever’s operations in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, we will jointly revolutionize the global vegetable production industry and further expand our market leadership in vertical farming. We see &ever’s climate cell technology and their high degree of automation as excellent additions to our advanced nutrient management system, which will further increase the productivity of our production facilities.”
Founded in 2015 to grow select leafy products and herbs, &ever has developed a proprietary approach up until harvesting that optimizes the entire production cycle through unique technologies
&ever has operations in Asia, the Middle East and Europe and has designed production facilities of various sizes, ranging from small scale installations to mega-farms, that can be built in less than 10-months and produce up to 1,500 MT of produce per year.
In partnership with Nox Management, its anchor investor since 2018, &ever built its first ever large-scale farm in Kuwait that serves the local market through an exclusive distributor. A second mega-farm is under construction in Singapore with support from the government and is expected to commence operations during Q1 2022.
Marzouq Jassim Al-Bahar, CEO of Nox Management, said: “We are pleased with this deal, which will result in a significant profit for the year; moreover it signifies a global trend leaning towards sustainable agricultural solutions that contribute to supporting food security. We look forward to the Government’s support in encouraging and implementing these types of initiatives.” He further commented, “The shareholders of &ever have nominated Faisal Al-Meshal to be their representative on the Board of Directors of Kalera AS, and we are proud to have a member of Nox Management’s team fill this position. We are confident that this partnership with Kalera AS will contribute to and enhance our future development plans “.
About Nox Management
Nox Management is an investment company under the IFA group with its headquarters in Kuwait, focused on the food and beverage sector in the GCC. Its investment mandate is to invest in and operate businesses across the complete food and beverage supply chain: manufacturing, logistics and distribution, retail, and restaurants. Nox Management is currently active across all the aforementioned segments with its current portfolio of companies: Alain Water Bottling Plant, OnCost, Kuwait Holding Distribution, Baqal, AlForda, and its portfolio of restaurants. In addition to its emphasis on the food and beverage sector, Nox Management has also invested in Media through Ghaliah.
