Heartwood Partners is pleased to announce that NativeSeed Group (“NativeSeed”), has acquired Star Seed (“Star”), a producer and supplier of conservation and farm seeds, located in Osborne, Kansas. Star joins NativeSeed’s vertically integrated platform adding additional warm season varieties to NativeSeed’s extensive range of seed and erosion control solutions used in land reclamation, conservation, and soil improvement. The acquisition also expands NativeSeed’s geographic footprint into the Midwest.
Star Seed offers over 300 varieties of seeds to its customers, which include seed retailers, distributors, farmers, state and local conservation districts, NGOs, and private landowners. The conservation segment supplies native grasses and wildflower seeds used for land restoration, conservation, and habitat improvement while the farm segment provides seeds for cover crops, forage, and wheat growers.
“We are extremely excited to add Star Seed to our portfolio of businesses. Star has built an exceptional reputation as a best-in-class supplier to both the conservation and farm markets,” said Rob Wendell, CEO, NativeSeed Group. “Star Seed is the ideal partner to expand our footprint into the Midwest and offer our customers an even greater breadth and depth of inventory on a just-in-time basis.”
“Our team is thrilled to have partnered with NativeSeed. We’ve known the NativeSeed team for a long time and always believed the two companies would be highly complementary if brought together. With their support and resources, we are excited to continue to grow and expand within our markets,” said Eric Woofer, CEO, Star Seed and now Executive Vice President with NSG.
“Star Seed is a great addition to the NativeSeed Group portfolio,” said James Sidwa, Partner, Heartwood Partners. “We are pleased to have added another strong brand and energetic management team to the business and look forward to investing in the future growth of the combined business.”
Heartwood Partners would like to recognize the investment banking team at Integris Partners for their efforts in closing this transaction and making this partnership possible.
Please contact the following members of the investment team at Heartwood Partners with investment or add-on opportunities:
James Sidwa, Partner
John Willert, Partner
jwillert@heartwoodpartners.com
John Newman, Principal
Morgan Skarzynski, Vice President
mskarzynski@heartwoodpartners.com
Saer Brown, Senior Associate
Jack Nolan, Associate