The Latest News From Verdesian Life Sciences

Verdesian Life Sciences Acquires Plant Syence Ltd

April 17, 2013

Cary, NC, US and Howden, East Yorkshire, UK - Verdesian Life Sciences, LLC ("Verdesian"), a Paine & Partners, LLC ("Paine & Partners") company, today announced that it has acquired all of the assets of Plant Syence Ltd and its affiliates ("Plant Syence"). Plant Syence is an East Yorkshire-based company which has served as a manufacturer's representative for Verdesian in the United Kingdom and continental Europe for the last 11 years. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"Verdesian is committed to product development and enhancing our portfolio through acquisition of companies and technologies. The acquisition of Plant Syence is an important step in Verdesian's growth strategy," said JJ Grow, Chief Executive Officer of Verdesian Life Sciences. "We have had a successful and long-term relationship with Plant Syence. They've developed strong local relationships and have offered keen insight into local markets that has led to the continued development of Verdesian products. We welcome Plant Syence to the Verdesian family and look forward to creating a global plant health company together."

"We firmly believe that this development will benefit the company and our customers," said John Haywood, CEO Plant Syence. "Increased investment from our new parent company will allow us to be more responsive to the needs of our customers and provide more support to those using our products. Our team will remain the same, as will the quality of our products, and with this extra support we plan to develop more innovative products."

Plant Syence will immediately begin conducting business as Verdesian Life Sciences Europe, Ltd. Haywood will assume the Managing Director position of Verdesian Life Science Europe and will report to JJ Grow.

Verdesian Life Sciences Acquires Northwest Agricultural Products

February 27, 2013

Cary, NC and Pasco, WA - Verdesian Life Sciences, LLC ("Verdesian"), a Paine & Partners, LLC ("Paine & Partners") company, today announced that it has acquired Northwest Agricultural Products, Inc. ("NAP"), a world-class provider of specialty agricultural products. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

NAP specializes in eco-friendly products designed to meet the diverse needs of the agricultural community through advanced chemical and biological innovation, with a focus on enhanced plant health, optimized crop yields and overall quality. The company's strong portfolio of products is highlighted by Sterics®, which enhance the absorption of phosphorous, and PolyAmines, which deliver essential micronutrients. It also produces biostimulants and biopesticides, with its Intracept and Bloomtime FD product lines. NAP's technical strengths include plant pathology and physiology, advanced fermentation, bioprocess development and chemical, biochemical and environmental engineering. As a subsidiary of Verdesian, NAP will continue to operate independently out of Pasco, WA, through the 2013 season.

JJ Grow, Chief Executive Officer of Verdesian Life Sciences, said, "We are excited about our transaction with NAP, which is an important next step in Verdesian's growth strategy. The acquisition of NAP underscores Verdesian's strategic focus on plant technologies that enhance the uptake of key nutrients using multiple modes of action as well as aligning plant health nutritional technologies with agronomic practices. NAP's differentiated products - its bioscience lines, in particular - are highly complementary to Biagro Western's, which Verdesian acquired in 2012. NAP has built a strong position in its markets, and Verdesian will leverage its international platform to expand NAP's customer base to take it to a new level of growth. We look forward to working with NAP's employees and we welcome them to the Verdesian family."

David Bergevin, President and Chief Executive Officer of NAP, said, "We are excited to team up with Verdesian - a strong platform that offers the experience and resources necessary to help a highly specialized company like NAP to grow and develop. We are confident that NAP can use the Verdesian platform to expand its business and energize its sales and marketing capabilities so that its products can enhance plant health and nutrition in markets where they are needed most."

Verdesian focuses on investments in plant health and nutrition and was established in September 2012 by Paine & Partners, a global private equity investment firm that specializes in the food and agribusiness industry globally. Verdesian acquired Biagro Western Sales, LLC, a leader in protected technologies for developing plant health and plant nutrition products, in September 2012.

About Northwest Agricultural Products, Inc.

Established in 1989 by David Bergevin in Pasco, WA, Northwest Agricultural Products, Inc. is a world-class provider of specialty agricultural products. The eco-friendly products are designed to meet the diverse needs of the agricultural community through advanced chemical and biological innovation, with a focus on enhanced plant health, optimized crop yields and overall quality. Its strong portfolio of products is highlighted by Sterics® and PolyAmines. Northwest Agricultural Products also produces biostimulants and biopesticides, with its Intracept and Bloomtime FD product lines. The Company's technical strengths include plant pathology and physiology, advanced fermentation, bioprocess development and chemical, biochemical and environmental engineering.

Verdesian Life Sciences Taps Francis X. Pirozzi as CFO

February 11, 2013

Cary, North Carolina - Verdesian Life Sciences, LLC announces Francis X. Pirozzi, CPA, will be CFO for Verdesian Life Sciences effective immediately. With a proven track record in start-up enterprises as well as established firms, Pirozzi brings an excellent set of financial skills to help lead Verdesian.

His experience includes dealings with global mergers, acquisitions and risk management for diverse agricultural and consumer companies as well as financial providers. Most recently, Pirozzi was director and assistant treasurer of Red Hat, Inc. where he managed a global $1.3 billion portfolio of financial investments and risk management for an enterprise that grew revenue from $600 million to over $1 billion within a 4-year span.

Prior to his financial oversight at Red Hat, Pirozzi was Vice President of Finance for Etigra in Cary, NC. He has also served in various managerial positions in North Carolina-based businesses including R.H. Donnelley, TIMCO Aviation Services, Inc., Jefferson Pilot Financial and Remington Arms Company.

Pirozzi's global financial experience was a key factor in management's decision to recruit him for his current role at Verdesian Life Sciences, according to JJ Grow, Chief Executive Officer. "We are working to broaden our global portfolio and refine our technologies to build a successful, vibrant company domestically as well as abroad," Grow says. "Pirozzi has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in these key areas critical to attaining our goal. We feel he will be an essential asset to our management team as we move forward."

Verdesian Life Sciences, LLC Adds Greg Thompson as Chief Sales & Marketing Officer

October 29, 2012

Cary, North Carolina - Verdesian Life Sciences, LLC announces the addition of Greg Thompson as Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, effective immediately

Greg will be responsible for driving sales in key U.S. markets as Verdesian begins to roll out its strategy to be a leader in the plant health and nutrition segment.

Thompson most recently held the position of Executive Vice President - Sales & Marketing at Nufarm. While in this role, he was instrumental in driving growth and diversification. Greg excelled at increasing profits in the Agriculture and Specialty business as he supervised a national team of sales and marketing account managers.

Greg will be reporting to Chief Executive Officer, J.J. Grow, with whom he already has a history. Grow and Thompson worked closely at Etigra where Greg spent several years as Director Of National Accounts. There he was responsible for sales and marketing in the Vegetation Management and Turf & Ornamental segments.

"Greg is recognized as a top industry sales and marketing leader and I am excited to have him on our team. He joins Verdesian with a very strong background in building world class sales teams. We're looking forward to his contributions," says Grow. "His background and leadership experience will be critical in all phases of Verdesian's evolution."

Thompson says, "I'm excited to have the opportunity to be involved in something substantial from the early stages. It's an opportunity to reinvest my past experiences to help build a business through acquisition and organic growth. It will also be interesting to move into a new agricultural and turf segment that I haven't been a part of before."

Prior to his service at Nufarm and Etigra, Greg had a progressive career of nearly ten years at BASF where he held multiple positions. The latest of those was Regional Manager of Turf & Ornamental where he was instrumental in developing and implementing strategic planning, channel strategy and communications as well as other major aspects of the business.

Paine & Partners Establishes Verdesian Life Sciences as Investment Platform; Announces Acquisition of Biagro Western as First Investment For New Platform

September 10, 2012

New York, NY, Chicago, IL, San Francisco, CA - Paine & Partners, LLC ("Paine & Partners"), a global private equity investment firm, today announced the establishment of a new investment platform called Verdesian Life Sciences, LLC ("Verdesian"), which will focus on investments in plant health and nutrition.

In addition, Paine & Partners today announced that, as the first investment for that platform, Verdesian has acquired Biagro Western Sales, LLC ("Biagro Western"), which focuses on protected technologies used to develop plant health and plant nutrition products in agricultural markets globally. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

With the acquisition of Biagro Western, Verdesian will become a leader in the plant health and plant nutrition market. As a subsidiary of Verdesian, Biagro Western will continue to provide customers with innovative solutions that specialize in plant nutrition, phosphite fertilizers, plant protectants and seed treatments, under the Biagro Western name. JJ Grow will serve as Chief Executive Officer of Verdesian.