CropX, an Israeli provider of digital solutions for agronomic farm management, is in talks with potential acquisition candidates and expects its next deal in the first half of 2024, CEO Tomer Tzach told Mergermarket.
The company is looking to acquire to expand CropX’s geographical reach and to add complementary software and hardware technologies, he said.
The company looks at targets globally and among interesting regions for CropX Tzach mentioned Latin America. CropX would like to acquire companies generating some millions of dollars in revenues, he said, adding that one of the key decision criteria for an acquisition is the team of the target.
To date, CropX has made five acquisitions and on average it could do one to three deals per year, he said. The number of deals will also depend on the speed of the integration process for the acquired companies, he noted. He mentioned that CropX wants to acquire 100% stakes.
This is a good time to make acquisitions, Tzach said. The agtech market is very fragmented, there are several players with good technologies and teams that struggle to fundraise and are therefore more open to sell the business, he explained. Valuations and transaction prices are now more realistic than previously, he added.
The company is known to be a consolidator in the sector and is approached directly by advisers and companies looking to sell, but it also seeks candidates through internal work, the CEO said. Its SVP Corporate Development manages the company’s M&A activities, and the company does not have an M&A advisor, he added.
CropX pursues a buy-and build strategy focused on precision and sustainable agriculture technology. Organic and inorganic growth each contribute approximately 50% of the company’s overall growth, he added.
CropX has 110 employees and is growing “fast”, he said. He did not disclose the company’s revenues but said that the US generates just above 50% of them, followed by Europe. He did not comment on profitability.
To date, the company has raised a total of approximately USD 60m and is well financed, Tzach said. He added that a new financing round could make sense once CropX has made the next two acquisitions to finance more deals but declined to specify further.
In April the company closed a USD 30m Series C round and in October received additional investment from Newtree Impact. Its investors include Aliaxis, Edaphon, Finistere Ventures, NTT Finance Corporation, OurCrowd, Reinke Irrigation, Yair Shamir and Victrix.
CropX offers connected digital technologies that enhance crop yields, optimize irrigation, and promote resource-efficient farming practices, while providing visibility and tracking of sustainability practices. Its lead product, CropX agronomic farm management system, offers digital agronomic decision-making and planning tools in an app that can track multiple farms and fields, according to a press release. Its solutions are deployed in more than 70 countries, the CEO said.
CropX was founded in 2013 in New Zealand and moved to Israel in 2017. In 2020, it acquired US-based CropMetrics, a precision irrigation company, and Regen, a precision irrigation company in New Zealand. In 2021, it acquired precision agriculture company Dutch Dacom Farm Intelligence. In January 2023, a California-based provider of digital farm management software Tule Technologies, and in December, Australian digital irrigation management solutions provider Green Brain.
