Union of three companies creates market-leading platform for crop nutrition and grower support to empower U.S. farming communities
FORT WAYNE, Indiana and FONDA, Iowa – November 19, 2024 – BW Fusion, an innovator in agricultural crop and soil nutrition; Biodyne, an environmental microbiology company; and Agronomy 365, a tech-enabled crop analytics and management program; today announced their merging to create an integrated platform under BW Fusion. The combined company will offer growers more effective and sustainable biologicals at every stage of the crop nutrition cycle. The transaction formalized a previous strategic alliance between the three companies and will accelerate product innovations and enhance grower support. Financial support for the transaction was provided by Bain Capital Double Impact, the impact investing arm of Bain Capital.
In 1989, Dr. Fred Farley, an esteemed microbiologist and plant physiologist founded Biodyne and began developing beneficial microbes for environmental stewardship and bioremediation. His research was applied to hundreds of plant and vegetation species, proving efficacy to reduce soil contamination and improve overall plant health. In 2012, seeing the promise of Dr. Farley’s work, Gil Farley and Tim Weir formed a new venture to commercialize Biodyne’s products. These efforts later led to a partnership with third-generation grower Grant Wells and the founding of BW Fusion in 2019 with a focus on row crops such as corn, soy and wheat. As BW Fusion expanded, a partnership with Jason Schley and Agronomy 365 was formed.
Going forward, BW Fusion will marry Biodyne’s 30+ years of biologicals research, Agronomy 365’s cutting-edge data and software tools, and BW Fusion’s product development, manufacturing and commercial expertise to support farming communities across the U.S. BW Fusion is poised to benefit from long-term secular tailwinds in agriculture and increasing demand for environmentally sustainable biological crop nutrition solutions.
“Our mission has always been to help growers improve crop productivity and long-term soil health. As farmers ourselves, we understand the importance of providing growers with the right data to make informed decisions. Through our partnership to date, it’s evident that leveraging our combined strengths supports growers with the resources they need at scale to improve farming methods and increase long term profits,” said Jason Schley, BW Fusion’s Chief Agronomist and Product Officer. “BW Fusion’s products are now used on over 1 million acres across the U.S., and we are excited to partner with Bain Capital Double Impact to continue supporting farming communities while simultaneously helping the environment win,” said Grant Wells, a Partner at BW Fusion.
“We are excited to collaborate with the founders to create a complete solution that fuses leading agronomy, environmental microbiology, and grower-support to accelerate BW Fusion’s impact” said Jacob Donnelly, a Partner at Bain Capital Double Impact. “Our investment in the BW Fusion platform reflects our strategy of partnering with mission-driven companies to help them scale and achieve greater climate and sustainability results.”
Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.
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About BW Fusion
BW Fusion, an innovator in agricultural crop and soil nutrition; Biodyne, an environmental microbiology company; and Agronomy 365, a tech-enabled crop analytics and management program; merged to create an integrated platform under BW Fusion. The combined company offers growers more effective and sustainable biologicals at every stage of the crop nutrition cycle. For more information on BW Fusion, visit the website at www.bw-fusion.com.
About Bain Capital Double Impact
Bain Capital Double Impact is the impact investing strategy of Bain Capital, a leading global private investment firm. Bain Capital Double Impact leverages deep industry experience and an active, value-added approach to build great companies that deliver both competitive financial returns and meaningful, measurable social and environmental good. Bain Capital Double Impact partners with companies across three themes – health & wellness, education & workforce development, and sustainability to create long-term value and meaningful social impact at scale. For more information, visit www.baincapitaldoubleimpact.com
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