Growers Supplies (SA) is the latest independent reseller making the decision to merge with Delta Agribusiness. The merger becomes effective 1 April 2023.
Bruno DiManno, Charmaine Librandi, Shane Librandi and their team have built up Grower Services over many years to become a leading supplier of a diverse range of agri services through its outlets at Burton and Warooka in South Australia.
In the regions it operates in Grower Services is recognised as a market leader across horticulture, viticulture, hydroponics, broadacre and animal health and nutrition.
Delta Agribusiness managing director Gerard Hines said the addition of Grower Services into the broader Delta Ag group family continues Delta’s strategy to grow and diversify its business footprint and earnings diversity.
“This transaction will deliver positive synergies to both businesses, by providing Grower Services centralised back end and network services support, increased capital to grow the business and access to the scale and benefits of Delta’s overall procurement capacity.
“Both parties feel a strong cultural alignment and look forward to working together.
“Through this transaction, Bruno, Charmaine and Shane will take up a significant portion of equity in the Delta Group as a part of the transaction consideration. Consistent with our model, this ensures strong forward alignment, and we look forward to welcoming them to our shareholder family.”
The Grower Services team will continue to fully manage Grower Services on a business-as-usual basis; however, the businesses will be incorporated into Delta’s operating systems and procurement functions at the end of March, ready for an April 1 transition.
“Importantly, the combined business of Grower Services and Delta Ag remains privately owned and an independent organisation,” Mr Hines said.
“We see this as very important as it aligns with the way we operate our businesses and our desire to ensure that the larger listed and foreign-owned corporates continue to have growing, strong and capable competitors that are investing in and competing in regional Australia.
“We are delighted to welcome Bruno, Charmaine, Shane and the Grower Services team into our business. They have built a very successful and diverse business with a strong brand and reputation for customer service excellence and are a terrific natural fit for our culture and our strategy.
“We believe this also gives us a new platform in the Adelaide Hills and Adelaide Plains region, the Yorke Peninsula and the Murraylands for further growth opportunities.”
Bruno DiManno said, “We feel this is a great opportunity to partner with Delta to take our business forward. Delta is a large and dynamic independent, with an inclusive shareholder model and we feel this will be a good outcome for our customers. It will give us access to the scale and resources Delta can provide and the opportunity for our terrific staff to become shareholders if they choose to.
“We wanted to stay private and maintaining a strong level of equity retains that local ownership and provides a good platform for succession planning. Delta will also bring other offerings they have to our customers like their Precision Ag products, seasonal finance, and their real estate relationship with LAWD.
Mr DiManno said the team at Growers Supplies would also like acknowledge and thank the NRI Group for their support and networking over the last 13 years.
Mr Hines said upon completion, the combined agronomic experience of the two businesses will greatly strengthen the overall value proposition to customers, as both businesses will bring new ideas and synergies to the table for the benefit of their customers.
The combined group will have more than 75 agronomist/farm consultants across 63 company retail locations and an ongoing and substantial dedication to research and development trial work.
