Adenia acquires grower of premium roses in Kenya

Private equity firm, Adenia Partners, has taken a controlling stake in Altilands SA, the parent company of Red Lands Roses, a grower with operations in Kenya, for an undisclosed amount.

Adenia Partners, through Red Lands’ management, now plan to increase roses production in Kenya by cultivating flowers in an additional 20 hectares of land, as it seeks to grow its revenues by increasing supply to meet the needs of its existing customers and new ones.

It said that this will create an additional 250 jobs over the next two years, to bring its number of employees to 750, most of whom are women.

“We are delighted to partner with Red Lands Roses to help grow this exceptional company whose niche business model was pioneered by one of the few women in this male-dominated sector. We look forward to working closely with the leadership to build on the Company’s strong foundation,” said, Martha Osier, partner at Adenia Partners.

Red Lands is among the first farms in East Africa to fully take up hydroponic flower farming. The family business was established in 1996 by agronomist Isabelle Spindler, who will remain as executive director responsible for farm expansion together with her husband Aldric Spindler.

“Adenia has a strong track record of accelerating growth and institutionalizing family-led companies like ours. We look forward to partnering with Adenia and leveraging their experience and expertise,” said Red Lands Roses Managing Director, Ms Spindler.

Disha Copreaux, recently appointed, will serve as the company’s CEO. She previously held management roles at Export Trading Group (ETG) and Syngenta.