Riviana Foods, a subsidiary of Madrid, Spain-based Ebro Foods, has announced the signing of a definitive agreement to purchase the assets of InHarvest for approximately $48.75 million. Bemidji, Minn.-based InHarvest specializes in the production, marketing, and sale of premium specialty rice, quinoa, and grains for the foodservice, industrial, and retail sectors. It employs approximately 140 people and generated sales of approximately $50.3 million in 2020.
The acquisition will expand Riviana’s operations and geographic footprint into California and includes two production facilities in Colusa and Woodland strategically located in the rice-growing area of the Western United States. In addition, with InHarvest’s focus on the foodservice, ingredients/industrial and retail/private label sectors, the purchase complements and enhances Riviana’s current business in those segments.
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Ebro Foods cited numerous reasons for the acquisition, including the fact InHarvest will be easy to integrate within the Riviana business; the supply chain, plant network, and packaging and production capacity of the Ebro Group in the U.S. will be improved; Riviana will gain access to business platforms where doesn’t currently have a significant presence, including foodservice and the military channel; and InHarvest’s value-added goods will be included within Riviana’s product portfolio.
“The acquisition of the InHarvest business is an excellent fit and consistent with our strategic plan to expand our position in the specialty value-added rice, quinoa, and grains markets,” says Enrique Zaragoza, president & CEO of Riviana. “We are excited about this expansion as we also look forward to welcoming InHarvest’s employees to the Riviana team.”
Subject to customary closing formalities, the two companies expect the transaction to close in early April.
