The Valtierra-based company, a world leader in the breeding and propagation of several varieties of red fruits such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries, as well as other plant varieties, belonged until now to the British venture capital firm Cinven and the Spanish family office Label Investment. The new buyer claims that the operation represents “a milestone” and that its purpose is to “strategically expand” the breeding activities carried out by a company that operates in twenty-five countries and has around 300 employees in the region.
Planasa, founded in 1973 by the French Darbonne family, was considered “the jewel in the crown” of the companies owned by Caja de Ahorros de Navarra until 2003, when Alexandre Pierron Darbonne, grandson of the company’s founder, bought his share of the business from the financial institution. Subsequently, in 2017, the majority of the company’s share capital passed into the hands of Cinven, which has now decided to sell.
In the meantime, the company has had a successful track record in its business. Today it has six R&D centres in Europe, Mexico and the United States, in which it has invested 25 million euros over the last five years. It also operates in twenty-five countries and its nurseries enable it to supply customers in Europe, Africa, America and Asia. Its turnover was 185 million euros in 2022, with annual growth of 27%.
EW Group, for its part, is a global corporation of family-owned companies with more than 200 subsidiaries operating mainly in the fields of life sciences, research and innovation. Present in more than fifty countries, it currently employs more than 18,000 people.
Source: Diario de Navarra