Apr 25, 2016

Lariat Partners invests in Willowood USA

Willowood USA has teamed up with Lariat Partners, a Denver-based private equity firm, to further expand their product portfolio and market expansion.

“The strategic investment that Lariat Partners has made in our company will rapidly fuel our growth and presence in U.S. agriculture” said Brian Heinze, Willowood USA president and CEO. “We have experienced excellent growth these past 5 years but this investment from Lariat will ramp up our expansion and presence in markets that we have not yet penetrated.”

Lariat is providing the necessary growth capital to help Willowood USA make strategic hires, internally develop and opportunistically acquire new products, and enhance its sales and marketing efforts, the company said.

“We are once again off to another record year of sales” Andy King, Willowood national sales manager, said. “Our growing product portfolio combined with low commodity prices and growers’ desire to reduce input costs have worked in our favor this season.”

Kevin Mitchell, managing partner for Lariat Partners, said: “We are very impressed with the management team at Willowood USA and the success they have experienced bringing valuable crop protection products to market at a time when growers are increasingly demanding high performing herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides at a competitive price. Specialty Agriculture is a sector of focus for Lariat and we have a particular interest in crop protection. We feel our investment in Willowood’s future growth is a great fit for our CORE Investment Strategy.”