Mar 15, 2018Lipman Family Farms goes indoors with acquisition of Huron Produce
Immokalee, Florida-based Lipman Family Farms – which lays claim to being North America’s largest open field tomato grower has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ontario, Canada based Huron Produce, a greenhouse
“The Huron Produce acquisition is truly transformative,” said Darren Micelle, COO of Lipman Family Farms. “We look forward to the opportunities resulting from the introduction of our proprietary varieties into the protected agriculture space. We have innovative new products planned that will create value for our customers. Likewise, Huron Produce can now expand their customer offering to include field grown product. This is a classic win-win transaction. The addition of Huron gives us extraordinary product depth, expands our collective capabilities and broadens our distribution footprint, allowing us to better serve our customers with a single, year-round solution for tomatoes and vegetables. We’re excited to welcome the Huron team to the Lipman family.”
Huron Produce is a multigenerational, family owned company with over 50 years in the produce business. Commenting on the acquisition, Jeff Kints, president of Huron Produce said, “The transaction with Lipman will allow Huron to build on our years of success, accelerate our business strategies and enhance our service and product offering to our customers. It is clear we and Lipman share the same values, both being family businesses with long histories in agriculture and fresh produce. You’d never know Lipman is as big as they are. They work more like a small, agile company with a focus on people. The Lipman leadership team understands that people create the difference.”
As part of the acquisition, Lipman plans to expand operations with new facilities in Canada, Nebraska, a second location in Denver and a warehouse in McAllen, Texas. The acquisition is expected to close in April 2018.
Centerview Partners is serving as Lipman’s financial advisor on the transaction.