RMB Ventures, lead shareholder in Afrikelp since 2019, has exited its position through the sale of the South African agricultural biosolutions company to Sustainable Agro Solutions, part of the SAS Group, which is backed by Stirling Square Capital Partners. The transaction places the business within a broader international biosolutions platform. It also opens access to additional technologies, capabilities and markets to support its continued growth.
The deal is being presented by the parties as the outcome of a governance-driven investment approach rather than a simple change of ownership. During the partnership, RMB Ventures worked with Afrikelp’s management and its board to sharpen the company’s growth strategy, strengthen leadership and governance, formalise operations and broaden its international commercial reach. According to the investor, these changes underpinned the company’s expansion and built a stronger platform for its next stage of development.
Ewan Gray, partner and senior transactor at RMB Ventures, says the firm’s initial attraction to Afrikelp rested on what he describes as a unique combination of scientific expertise, proprietary technology and access to a high-quality natural resource. “From the outset, our ambition was to support management in building a globally relevant biosolutions business from South Africa,” he says. “Together, we strengthened the business, expanded its international reach and positioned it for its next phase of growth.”
The investment began in 2019. RMB Ventures acted as lead and largest investor in a management buyout, describing the move as an injection of long-term capital and strategic support into a specialist business with a differentiated product, strong scientific capability and the potential to grow beyond South Africa. Gray adds that the investment was always about backing a capable management team and helping build a world-class business. The company is now well positioned for its next phase, with SAS Group viewed as an excellent long-term home for the business, its employees and its customers.
Meanwhile, Afrikelp itself develops premium seaweed-based bio stimulants derived from Ecklonia maxima, a kelp species harvested off the South African coastline. Its products are designed to improve crop performance, resilience and productivity, and are used by farmers in more than 55 countries worldwide. That international customer base now transfers to the new ownership structure, with Afrikelp contributing its South African capabilities to SAS Group’s platform while gaining access to a wider set of technologies and markets through which to pursue further growth. The acquirer describes the combination as bringing together complementary products, scientific expertise and market reach.
Sustainability commitments formed a consistent thread in the company’s strategy throughout the investment period, according to those involved in the deal. Afrikelp’s focus on responsible stewardship of natural resources, scientific innovation and long-term value creation is credited with strengthening its position in global agricultural markets. Dr Nicole Hart, the company’s chief executive officer, says the partnership with shareholders helped the business think more deliberately about the kind of company it wanted to build and the impact it wanted to have. “Together, we developed a clear vision for sustainable growth that balanced commercial success with investment in our people, products and environment. That foundation has helped position Afrikelp for this exciting next chapter,” she says.
For RMB Ventures, the completed transaction is framed as evidence of the role that patient capital and an active partnership with management can play in helping a specialist South African company build the capabilities and market reach needed to compete internationally. The parties point to the strengthened governance, formalised operations and expanded commercial footprint achieved over the investment period as the foundation on which the next phase of growth under SAS Group’s ownership will now proceed. Whether the platform can convert that foundation into further international expansion will be the measure of the deal in the years ahead.
This article was sponsored by RMB Ventures.