Inflexion has sold its investment in Newbury-based Kynetec, a leader in agricultural and animal health market research, data and insights, to US-based Paine Schwartz Partners. The transaction follows a nearly five-year partnership.
In 2016 Inflexion carved Kynetec out of its listed German parent GfK. The company subsequently embarked on ambitious growth, with significant investment into technology and acquisitive-led growth, including the transformational purchase of Germany-based Kleffmann Group. The successful partnership with Inflexion strengthened the firm’s operations in North and South America, Asia and Europe, resulting in a global business operating in 30 countries.
Daniel Wirth, CEO at Kinetic, said: “We have made important progress growing Kynetec and are proud of our accomplishments since the company was founded in 2002. Just over a year ago, we took a meaningful step expanding our global footprint and capabilities with the acquisition of Kleffmann Group. Inflexion’s support made such growth opportunities possible on our journey to become a global market leader of data and insights in agriculture and animal health.”
Simon Turner, Managing Partner at Inflexion, said: “We are proud to have built the global leader in agricultural and animal health information alongside an incredibly ambitious management team. During our partnership, Kynetec has seen significant acquisitive growth in both the UK and internationally and we look forward to seeing the business continue to prosper.”
Kevin Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer of Paine Schwartz, said: “We are investing in Kynetec at a time when the use of data and the ability to analyze it is becoming more critical as companies across the value chain increasingly rely on it to implement efficient and sustainable practices. With its global footprint, best- in-class offerings and a blue-chip customer base, Kynetec has a strong foundation and the ability to grow by moving to new markets, deepening its offerings, enhancing its technology and pursuing complementary bolt-on acquisitions. In particular, key opportunities include expanding in the machinery segment, growing animal health offerings and delivering solutions that support agricultural sustainability. We are excited to work with Daniel and the rest of the Kynetec team to translate their ability to quantify farming practices into sustainability-oriented products and capture opportunities across the Company’s large and growing addressable market.”
