S&W Seed closed an agreement to acquire Pasture Genetics, the third largest pasture seed company in Australia.
The acquisition will expand and diversify S&W’s product offerings in Australia and follows S&W’s other recent initiatives in the country to become one of the leading suppliers of elite seed genetics to Australian farmers.
According to a related 8-K filing, in December, 2019, the company completed a $35 million loan and security agreement with CIBC Bank USA.
Advances under the credit facility are to be used to refinance the company’s existing outstanding indebtedness;) to finance the borrowers’ ongoing working capital requirements; for general corporate purposes. The company may also use a portion of the credit facility to finance permitted acquisitions and related costs.
Concurrently with the competition of the CIBC facility, S&W terminated its previous facility with Keybank. The company paid KeyBank approximately $5.9 million in aggregate principal, interest and fees that were outstanding and payable under the KeyBank agreement at the time of its termination, and all liens on the assets of the company and its subsidiaries guaranteeing such facility, together with such subsidiary guarantees, were released and terminated. The KeyBank agreement had provided for borrowings of up to a $45 million revolving line of credit.
“We believe the acquisition of Pasture Genetics will broaden our product portfolio and sales capabilities within Australia, a market where we have built out a significant presence as a provider of elite seed genetics. It also is expected to further enhance utilization of S&Ws existing assets which we believe will drive incremental value for us in the years to come,” said Mark Wong, CEO of S&W Seed Company. “Pasture Genetics’ product portfolio complements our existing sorghum, alfalfa, sunflower and wheat products, furthering our objective of being a one-stop supplier of elite seed genetics to Australian farmers.”
Founded in 1980, S&W Seed Company is a global agricultural company headquartered in Longmont, CO.
