Cibus Capital agrees sale of Innoliva to Fiera Comox
November 13, 2023
Lazard advised the Innoliva Group (“Innoliva”), a portfolio company of Cibus Capital (“Cibus”), on its sale to the global private asset manager, Fiera Comox Partners (“Fiera Comox”). Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Sevilla, Spain, Innoliva is a leading producer of high-quality extra virgin olive oils, table olives, and almonds.
Under Cibus’ ownership, Innoliva doubled its footprint from c. 4,300ha of super high-density olive-oil production to over 8,300ha of diversified products, including almonds and table olives. In addition, Innoliva completed the conversion of more than 2,300ha of olive orchards to organic production, positioning Innoliva as a leading producer of organic extra virgin olive oil globally.
Innoliva’s expansion has been supported by Cibus’ mission to promote agriculture’s essential transition to more sustainable food production systems. Select environmental milestones during Cibus’ investment period include the introduction of carbon emissions monitoring, the treatment and re-integration of used mill water to irrigation systems, the implementation of solar energy and the launch of biodiversity initiatives.
Robert Appleby, Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Cibus Capital said, “Innoliva was the first buyout executed by Cibus Fund I. We engaged an excellent management team, which transformed a humdrum olive oil producer into a business that has produced excellent financial returns while espousing world-class sustainability practices.” Mr. Appleby further stated, “We are grateful to our stakeholders for their ongoing commitment to our strategy and to the new owners, whom we are confident will continue Innoliva’s successful growth trajectory.”
Jorge Pena, chief executive officer at Innoliva, said, “We are thankful to Cibus for its instrumental role in growing Innoliva and transforming it into a leading extra-virgin olive oil producer in Iberia and one of the largest producers of premium organic olive oil globally. We are thrilled to welcome Fiera Comox as our partner to continue with our growth strategy in the region.”
Innoliva represents another cross-border, sustainability-focused agribusiness transaction for Lazard and showcases the continuation of the firm’s focus on advising on-trend and rapidly-growing food and agribusiness companies, globally.
We are grateful to our stakeholders for their ongoing commitment to our strategy and to the new owners, whom we are confident will continue Innoliva’s successful growth trajectory.