Staphyt opens its capital to Unigrains, Bpifrance, Nord Est Partenaires and IRD Invest to accelerate its growth

The family-owned group, a world leader in agronomic research, will pursue an approach focused on diversification, internationalization and external growth

Inchy-en-Artois, France, March 12^th, 2025 – Staphyt, a world leader in agronomic research, has opened its capital to Unigrains, Bpifrance, Nord Est Partenaires and IRD Invest. This operation will allow the company to begin a new phase in its development focused on diversification, internationalization and external growth.

Founded in 1989 in Inchy-en-Artois (Hauts-de-France), is a service provider to international clients in the agrochemical, biosolutions and seed sectors for field trials, laboratory analyses and regulatory consulting missions. Staphyt currently operates more than 50 proprietary trial sites in 17 countries across 3 continents. Fully integrated, the group proposes a comprehensive offer for actors in plant nutrition, plant protection and seed markets, including majors, generics and innovative international or regional mid-sized companies. Staphyt has a successful track record in external growth with no less than 16 acquisitions since its creation, including 4 in Brazil since entering the country between 2021 and 2022.

A family-owned company, Staphyt is controlled by the second generation of the Boisleux family. Under the leadership of Arthur Boisleux, President, and of Olivier Marchioro, CEO, Staphyt currently employs nearly 600 people and has sales of over 45 million euros.

With the support of Unigrains, Bpifrance, Nord Est Partenaires and IRD Invest as minority shareholders, Staphyt will be able to seize new diversification opportunities in promising segments such as regulatory consulting for REACH or analyses for cosmetics; strengthen its geographical network in Europe, North America and South America; and pursue its external growth policy in a still fragmented sector.

Arthur Boisleux, President of Staphyt, declared: “With the arrival of Unigrains, Bpifrance, Nord Est Partenaires and IRD Invest in our capital, we will benefit from the financial resources and strategic expertise of complementary investors who share our vision for the development of our company. We are delighted to begin this new phase in service of our mission which consists of providing our clients with unique and tailor-made solutions with a common objective: to sustainably feed the world of tomorrow.”

Julien Becquet and Virginie Boutrouille, Investment Managers with Unigrains, declared: “Thanks to its integrated model, comprehensive offer, geographic coverage and extensive experience integrating acquisitions in France and around the world, Staphyt is perfectly positioned to continue its role as a consolidator across its different segments. For Unigrains, this investment is primarily about supporting French agronomic excellence and developing solutions for resilient and sustainable agriculture.”

Pierre de Miscault, Investment Director with Bpifrance, declared: “We are pleased to support the development of Staphyt, a French family-owned business with a global reach. This transaction will allow the group to expand its offer and strengthen its geographic coverage and to better serve its clientele of global players seeking an integrated partner present across several markets.”

Paul-Antoine Grasset, Private Equity Director, and Mathis Gillet, Investment Manager, with Nord Est Partenaires, declared: “Nord Est Partenaires is proud to support a major player in the French agronomic industry and to contribute to the sustainability of our agriculture, particularly through innovation. Through this investment, we will have the opportunity to contribute our expertise, supporting Staphyt and its management team in its development.”

Grégory Sion, Investment Director with IRD Invest, declared: “After an initial experience in 2010 alongside the Boisleux family, we are delighted to participate in this capital growth operation with Arthur Boisleux and his team. The goal is to strengthen the savoir-faire and the international deployment of Staphyt. The ambition remains the same: to support clients with a high service rate and strong added value – skills that perfectly characterize Staphyt’s offer.”

Actors involved in the transaction

Staphyt

• Arthur Boisleux, Olivier Marchioro, Benoit Reverte

Investors

• Unigrains (Virginie Boutrouille, Julien Becquet, Arthur Pauloin, Aline Picaut, Céline Ansart Le Run, Robin Horriot, Anne Perrot, Guillaume Le Henaff)
• Bpifrance Investissement (Gabrielle Tétart, Pierre de Miscault, Alexandre Vandenabeele)
• Nord Est Partenaires (Paul-Antoine Grasset, Baptiste Gillet)
• IRD (Grégory Sion, Laurent Hau Amandine Carreira Neves, Hélène Jude)

Advisors to Staphyt

• Legal : EY (Marnie Richard, Benoît Losfeld, Habiba Simjee, Elodie Brogniez, Giani Michalon, Claire Davigny)
• Financial advisors : Mortier & Co (Boris Chedin, Thomas Boisleux, Olivier Mortier)Poitau & Co (Thierry Poitau)

Advisors to Investors

• Financial BDD: EY (Pierre-Guillaume Fayet, Hugo Charpentier)
• Legal, Fiscal, Social BDD: De Pardieu Brocas Maffei (Eric Muller, Thomas Grenard, Eloé Monnier)
• Legal : De Pardieu Brocas Maffei (Eric Muller, Thomas Grenard, Eloé Monnier)

A propos d’Unigrains

Unigrains, an investment company specializing in the agri-food and agro-industry sectors, has been supporting companies for over 60 years, providing their managers with tailor-made equity and quasi-equity financial solutions, as well as recognized sector expertise. Today, Unigrains manages over 1 billion euros, and is a partner to 80 companies, intervening at various stages of their development, notably during capital reorganization, strategic investments and external growth operations. For further information: www.unigrains.fr

About Bpifrance and the FRPME Fund

Bpifrance, the Public Investment Bank, finances businesses – at every stage of their development – with credit, guarantees, and equity. Bpifrance supports them in their innovation and international projects. Bpifrance also accompanies their export activities through a wide range of products. Advisory, training support, networking, and an acceleration program for startups, SMEs, and mid-cap companies are also part of the offer available to entrepreneurs. Thanks to Bpifrance and its 50 regional offices, entrepreneurs benefit from a close, single, and effective contact to help them meet their challenges.

The SME Strengthening Fund supports SMEs and mid-cap companies by offering them an agile equity and quasi-equity financing solution to accelerate their development post-Covid pandemic.

More information at: www.Bpifrance.fr – https://presse.bpifrance.fr / Follow us on X (formerly Twitter): @BpifranceLeLab – @bpifrance – @BpifrancePresse and on LinkedIn – lelab.bpifrance.fr – www.bpifrance.fr

About Nord Est Partenaires

Nord Est Partenaires is a leading regional player in equity and quasi-equity investments in companies connected to its territory: Aisne, Ardennes, and Marne. Born from Crédit Agricole du Nord Est’s commitment to acting in a beneficial manner for its region, Nord Est Partenaires’ purpose is to support the development of businesses that bring life to its local community. More information at: nord-est-partenaires

About IRD Invest

IRD Invest is the asset management company of IRD and manages over 200 million euros in private equity. For over 30 years, IRD Invest has been investing in the growth of businesses, supporting them from start-up to mid-sized companies through four investment vehicles (Nord Création, Nord Croissance, IRD Entrepreneurs 1 & 2, and FE2T), enabling investments of 100 thousand euros to 12 million euros. More information at www.ird-invest.fr

Press Contacts:

• Unigrains: Ari Levine / alevine@unigrains.fr / +33 (0)6 69 20 79 19
• Bpifrance: Raphaëlle Renaudin / renaudin@bpifrance.fr / +33 (0)6 58 53 89 76
• Nord Est Partenaires: Mathis Gillet / gillet@ca-nord-est.fr / +33 (0)7 89 65 77 93
• IRD Invest: Alexandra Breyne / abreyne@motcomptedouble.fr / +33 (0)6 30 81 90 17