HOUSTON — Riviana Foods Inc., a subsidiary of Madrid, Spain-based Ebro Foods S.A., has agreed to acquire the assets of InHarvest, Inc. for approximately $48.75 million.
Headquartered in Bemidji, Minn., with two production facilities in Colusa and Woodland, Calif., InHarvest specializes in the production, marketing and sale of premium specialty rice, quinoa and grains for the foodservice, industrial and retail sectors. The company’s California operations are strategically located in the rice-growing area of the Western United States.
InHarvest employs approximately 140 and generated sales of approximately $50.3 million in 2020.
“The acquisition of the InHarvest business is an excellent fit and consistent with our strategic plan to expand our position in the specialty value-added rice, quinoa and grains markets,” said Enrique Zaragoza, president and chief executive officer of Riviana. “We are excited about this expansion as we also look forward to welcoming InHarvest’s employees to the Riviana team.”
Riviana Foods’ parent Ebro Foods cited four reasons why the acquisition is “of considerable strategic interest.” First, InHarvest would be easy to integrate within the Riviana business, Ebro said. Second, the supply chain, plant network and packaging and production capacity of the Ebro Group in the United States would be improved. Third, the addition of InHarvest would provide access to business platforms on which Riviana does not currently have a significant presence, including foodservice and the military channel, Ebro said. Finally, the value-added goods produced by InHarvest would be included within Riviana’s product portfolio.
