Cary, NC and Pasco, WA – February 27, 2013 – Verdesian Life Sciences, LLC (“Verdesian”), a Paine & Partners, LLC (“Paine & Partners”) company, today announced that it has acquired Northwest Agricultural Products, Inc. (“NAP”), a world-class provider of specialty agricultural products.  Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. 

NAP specializes in eco-friendly products designed to meet the diverse needs of the agricultural community through advanced chemical and biological innovation, with a focus on enhanced plant health, optimized crop yields and overall quality.  The company’s strong portfolio of products is highlighted by Sterics®, which enhance the absorption of phosphorous, and PolyAmines, which deliver essential micronutrients.  It also produces biostimulants and biopesticides, with its Intracept and Bloomtime FD product lines.  NAP’s technical strengths include plant pathology and physiology, advanced fermentation, bioprocess development and chemical, biochemical and environmental engineering.  As a subsidiary of Verdesian, NAP will continue to operate independently out of Pasco, WA, through the 2013 season.     

JJ Grow, Chief Executive Officer of Verdesian Life Sciences, said, “We are excited about our transaction with NAP, which is an important next step in Verdesian’s growth strategy.  The acquisition of NAP underscores Verdesian’s strategic focus on plant technologies that enhance the uptake of key nutrients using multiple modes of action as well as aligning plant health nutritional technologies with agronomic practices.  NAP’s differentiated products – its bioscience lines, in particular – are highly complementary to Biagro Western’s, which Verdesian acquired in 2012.  NAP has built a strong position in its markets, and Verdesian will leverage its international platform to expand NAP’s customer base to take it to a new level of growth.  We look forward to working with NAP’s employees and we welcome them to the Verdesian family.”

David Bergevin, President and Chief Executive Officer of NAP, said, “We are excited to team up with Verdesian – a strong platform that offers the experience and resources necessary to help a highly specialized company like NAP to grow and develop. We are confident that NAP can use the Verdesian platform to expand its business and energize its sales and marketing capabilities so that its products can enhance plant health and nutrition in markets where they are needed most.”

Verdesian focuses on investments in plant health and nutrition and was established in September 2012 by Paine & Partners, a global private equity investment firm that specializes in the food and agribusiness industry globally.  Verdesian acquired Biagro Western Sales, LLC, a leader in protected technologies for developing plant health and plant nutrition products, in September 2012.  Further information about Verdesian is available at ">www.vlsci.com/">www.VLSci.com.

About Northwest Agricultural Products, Inc.

Established in 1989 by David Bergevin in Pasco, WA, Northwest Agricultural Products, Inc. is a world-class provider of specialty agricultural products.  The eco-friendly products are designed to meet the diverse needs of the agricultural community through advanced chemical and biological innovation, with a focus on enhanced plant health, optimized crop yields and overall quality.  Its strong portfolio of products is highlighted by Sterics® and PolyAmines.  Northwest Agricultural Products also produces biostimulants and biopesticides, with its Intracept and Bloomtime FD product lines.  The Company’s technical strengths include plant pathology and physiology, advanced fermentation, bioprocess development and chemical, biochemical and environmental engineering. 

About Verdesian Life Sciences, LLC

Verdesian Life Sciences focuses on investments in plant health and nutrition.  Verdesian’s strategy is geared towards plant technologies that enhance the uptake of key nutrients using multiple modes of action as well as aligning plant health nutritional technologies with agronomic practices.  In September 2012, Verdesian acquired Biagro Western Sales, LLC, which focuses on protected technologies for developing plant health and plant nutrition products.  Further information about Verdesian is available at ">www.vlsci.com/">www.VLSci.com.

About Paine & Partners
Paine & Partners provides equity capital for management buyouts, going private transactions, and company expansion and growth programs.  Paine & Partners engages exclusively in friendly transactions developed in cooperation with a company's management, board of directors and shareholders.  The firm currently makes investments through its $1.2 billion fund, Paine & Partners Capital Fund III, L. P. and related entities.

Paine & Partners focuses on the food and agribusiness industry globally, and its principals, through a predecessor fund, have made successful strategic investments in Seminis, then the world's leading global developer, producer and marketer of vegetable and fruit seeds; and Advanta Netherlands Holdings BV, at the time, the largest independent agronomic seed company in the world.  Paine & Partners’ most recent investments include Verdesian Life Sciences, LLC, a U.S.-based plant health and nutrition investment platform; Scanbio Marine, a leading Norwegian producer of fish protein concentrate, fish meal, and fish oil; and Costa Group, Australia's largest integrated grower, packer and marketer of fresh fruits and vegetables. The complex investment opportunities in today’s rapidly evolving agribusiness environment play to the strengths of Paine & Partners’ differentiated approach.  For further information, see www.painepartners.com/">">www.painepartners.com/">www.painepartners.com.