Banco Santander announced this Monday, October 3, that it bought 5 percent of the capital of Grupo Kimitec. The holding company, also Spanish, leads the so-called MAAVI Innovation Center, the most important natural biotechnology hub on the European continent and one of the most relevant in the world.
The purchase was carried out through Santander’s Agro Smart Fund, and is part of the financial institution’s strategy of entering the capital of innovative and sustainable companies with high growth potential.
The MAAVI Innovation Center Kimitec is one of the leading hubs in technological change towards natural chemicals for agricultural use, a vital process within the framework of the agri-food strategy promoted by the EU and its “Farm to Fork”.
Kimitec’s turnover grew by 80 percent in 2021 and it is considered one of the most important firms in Europe if it wants to meet the region’s sustainability goals in the agriculture sector and also in agribusiness.
According to the CEO of Santander in Spain, Antonio Simoes, the operation should be read not only as the bank’s entry into the biotechnological sector, but the arrival of Santander in the sector hand in hand with one of the companies with the best chance of being the most profitable unicorn in Europe.
the hub MAAVI Innovation Center has a vision to change the way food is produced. Kimitec understands that the current production model has come to an end and that there is no possible future without the reduction in the use of chemicals in that process.
This is how we make things happen!👇🏻@santander_es fully enters the biotechnology sector and joins this great revolution by acquiring 5% of Kimitec and MAAVi Innovation Center
Discover the full agreement:🚀https://t.co/mn3x1wIzI8 pic.twitter.com/P5benhY8vy— Kimitec (@KimitecGroup) October 3, 2022
The company has been working on the subject for 15 years, long before supermarkets, brands and consumers themselves became concerned, so they have been years ahead in research to change the production model towards one based on natural elements.
In addition to agriculture, Kimitec, now with the support of Santander, seeks to develop similar strategies in livestock (replacing the antibiotics that animals receive), cosmetics (replacing pigments and active ingredients) and pharmaceuticals (with the change of active ingredients harmful).
Santander and Kimitec strategy
As they say in a releaseSantander’s entry into Kimitec’s capital will drive the company’s international take-off, as it has the support of the financial institution to attract new clients in different parts of the globe where the bank has a presence, such as Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and the rest of Latin America.
According to Kimitec, the objective with the signing of the agreement with Santander is to make the firm a partner of all the bank’s agribusiness clients, which are many.
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