HAL Investments’ GreenV acquires minority stake in Apex Greenhouses

A subsidiary of Dutch investment giant HAL Holding will acquire a stake in Australia’s largest builder of commercial greenhouses.

Apex Greenhouses chief executive Folco Faber. Picture: Serena Findlay

A subsidiary of Dutch investment giant HAL Holding will acquire a stake in Australia’s largest builder of commercial greenhouses.

GreenV, an aggregator of greenhouse construction and technology firms, will add Apex Greenhouses to its global portfolio through the purchase of a minority stake in the Adelaide-based company for an undisclosed sum.

Apex is Australia and New Zealand’s largest commercial greenhouse construction company, with projects ranging from tomato growing and medicinal cannabis facilities to botanic gardens, garden centres, packing sheds and university research and development projects.

It’s currently building its largest project to date - a 13ha facility in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley for Australia’s largest glasshouse producer of fruit and vegetables Flavorite.

Apex chief executive Folco Faber said the investment came at a time of rapid growth in CEA (controlled environment agriculture), as the industry adapted to the effects of climate change and the need for more certainty over growing conditions in order to deliver higher volumes of produce for a growing global population.

“We can see many examples locally as to why things are naturally moving towards indoor and greenhouse-based growing – extreme weather patterns, scarce labour, higher input costs for water, energy and fertiliser are all causing customers to look for more efficient solutions,” he said.

“Our typical client 10 years ago was a family operation and while they are still an important part of our customer base, we see larger corporate interests entering the space with heavy investment worldwide from PE (private equity), super funds and listed companies.

“We were at a crossroads as to whether we continued to compete with much larger, better resourced groups of companies and make large investments into our own R&D activities, or partner with one of these much larger groups and leverage off the knowledge and expertise they already had.”

Mr Faber said the tie up with GreenV would enable Apex to tap into the Dutch firm’s expertise in automation and emissions reduction technologies.

GreenV has shareholdings in a number of greenhouse technology and construction firms across Europe and North America, including specialists in climate control, sustainable energy, heating and electrical engineering.

Chief operating officer Anneke van de Geijn said the group’s first foray into Asia Pacific would enable it to export its expertise to a growing market.

“Our share in Apex Greenhouses complements our ambitions to grow the mid and hi-tech greenhouse industry in Oceania,” she said.

“We see significant growth in the industry across the world as our climate changes, and Australia is not immune.”

Apex’s Australian arm was advised by PwC’s M&A and tax teams in Sydney, with legal advice from Corrs Chambers Westgarth and Brown Wright Stein. In New Zealand, it received legal advice from MinterEllisonRuddWatts and tax advice from Baker Tilly Staples Rodway.

The deal remains subject to several closing conditions.

Formerly Faber Glasshouses, Apex Greenhouses was established in New Zealand by Dutch immigrant Leo Faber in the late 1970s.