Brief: Kalera agrees $153m deal to acquire &ever in vertical farming combo

• US-headquartered vertical farming company Kalera has agreed to acquire German counterpart &ever in a deal worth €130 million ($153 million).
• Under the terms of the agreement, &ever shareholders will receive €21.6 million in cash plus 13% of Kalera’s shares.
• &ever CEO Henner Schwarz will become managing director of Kalera’s EMEA and Asia-Pacific operations.

Why it matters:

The acquisition of &ever will allow Kalera to instantly expand its international footprint. The German company has operations across Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, ranging form “mega-farms” down to smaller scale installations. With regards to the latter, &ever offers its Grow Box for on-site growing in small retail stores and Grow Tower for larger grocery superstores.

“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,” Kalera CEO Daniel Malechuk said in a statement. “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.”

“This acquisition, combined with our previous acquisition of Vindara — the only seed company dedicated specifically for controlled environment agriculture — continues to complement and accelerate Kalera’s now global industry-leading position,” he added.

&ever was founded in 2015 with a focus on growing ‘baby leaf produce’ such as arugula, bok choy, cilantro, endive, kale, spinach, and watercress vertically.