Karela, a US-based hydroponic vertical farming operator, announced signing a share purchase agreement to acquire all of &ever GmbH (a leading German vertical farming player) shares in a deal valued at EUR 130 million (approximately USD 153 million). Kalera plans to fund the acquisition via cash (EUR 21.6 million) and shares (27,856,081 at a subscription price of NOK 36.68).

Post-acquisition, Kalera shareholders will own 87% of the combined entity while existing &ever GmbH shareholders will own the rest on a fully diluted basis. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of September 2021 upon shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions. Post-acquisition, &ever GmbH will be renamed Kalera GmbH.

&ever GmbH is known as a global leader in baby leaf indoor farming with a market presence across the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. The company claims that it can build large-scale vertical farms with the capacity to mass-produce baby leaf greens up to 1,500 metric tonnes per year, within a period of ten months. Besides this, &ever GmbH also offers smaller production facilities that can be installed on-site at retail stores. The company’s vertical farming container “Grow Box” targets small retail stores while its “Grow Tower” targets larger ones. In addition, the company also claims that its unique vertical farming technologies, “Dryponics'' and “Bestponics”, allow it to expand the range of leafy greens it can produce. 

This acquisition will give Kalera access to international markets, expand production capacity, and also broaden its product offerings to include a variety of leafy green products. Kalera claims that this acquisition will accelerate its ability to become a global vertical farming leader. The &ever GmbH acquisition follows Kalera’s Vindara acquisition in February this year, which provided the company with seeding technology aimed at reducing cost and increasing yield.