Paine Schwartz Partners Establishes Animal Health and Nutrition Platform with Strategic Investment in Warburton Technology, Inc., Owner and Developer of Multimin® 90

SAN MATEO, Calif., Dec. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Paine Schwartz Partners ("Paine Schwartz"), a global leader in sustainable food chain investing, today announced that it is establishing an Animal Health & Nutrition investment platform ("AH&N") with a strategic investment through its Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund IV in Warburton Technology, Inc., a leading producer of trace-mineral injections for cattle and the owner and developer of Multimin^® 90. The AH&N platform builds on Paine Schwartz's focus on the animal health and nutrition sector and will also include MS Biotech Holdings ("MS Biotec^®"), in which Paine Schwartz initially invested in October 2018. Financial terms of Paine Schwartz's investment in Warburton Technology were not disclosed.

Animal health industry veteran, William (Bill) Weldon, PhD, will serve as Chief Executive Officer of AH&N. Mr. Weldon brings extensive experience in cattle, as well as in evaluating, and integrating technology companies during his more than 20-year career at Elanco Animal Health. He led Elanco's Global R&D and Regulatory organization for eight years and later created and ran Elanco Nutritional Health Business Unit. In addition, Mr. Weldon led Elanco's Western Europe Commercial Operations from 2013 to 2014. Eithna O'Leary will continue to be the Managing Director of Warburton Technology, Lourens Havenga will continue to lead Multimin^® USA as Chief Executive Officer and Leander van der Walt will continue to lead MS Biotec^® as its Chief Executive Officer.

Warburton Technology, based in Ireland, is the world's first and only marketer of Multimin^® 90, a prescription patented injectable solution that provides a supplementary source of zinc, copper, selenium and manganese for cattle. Multimin^® 90 was brought to the USA by Multimin^® USA, a subsidiary of Warburton Technology based in Colorado. Multimin^® 90 has been extensively trialed with many peer reviewed published clinical studies. Multimin^® has also recently been launched in the UK, Ireland and France and is planning approval in additional European and other global markets.

MS Biotec^® is a leading provider of natural, proprietary products that maximize performance and enhance profitability in the beef feedlot and dairy markets. The MS Biotec^® team has strong relationships with feedlots, dairies, nutritionists, veterinarians and other industry participants.

"It is an honor to lead this innovative new platform, comprising two highly complementary companies that form a global cattle platform focused on non-antibiotic solutions to alleviate difficult health and production challenges. These companies have significant growth potential that can be achieved through the support of the agribusiness investing leader Paine Schwartz," said Bill Weldon, Chief Executive Officer of the AH&N platform. "With this platform, we will be able to capture the tremendous opportunities in the animal health market by building on the strengths of Multimin^® and MS Biotec^® and driving their mutual growth. I look forward to working with the team at Paine Schwartz, as well as with Eithna, Lourens, Leander and the employees of Multimin^® and MS Biotec^®, as we grow this exciting new animal health focused investment platform."

"We are pleased to partner with Paine Schwartz and to become part of the AH&N platform," said Lourens Havenga, President and Chief Executive Officer of Multimin^® USA. "We will benefit from Paine Schwartz's resources and agribusiness industry experience and operating expertise. We will also have the ability to collaborate with the team at MS Biotec^® and expand the market opportunities for both companies.  I would like to thank my team at Multimin^® USA for all they have done to build this great company and am excited for us to bring Multimin^® into its next phase of growth."

Eithna O'Leary, Managing Director of Warburton Technology, said, "The strategic use of combination injectable trace minerals is an exciting development in animal health. Cooperating with Paine Schwartz, we can bring Multimin^® to new markets and build further new products that help contribute to optimal animal health, performance and wellbeing. We are very thankful to the team that has brought us to this point and excited for all involved about what the future holds."

"Animal health and nutrition is a key focus area for our firm, and we are eager to strengthen our existing position and target new opportunities in the sector through the AH&N platform," said Kevin Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer and a Founding Partner of Paine Schwartz. "We have made important progress since our initial investment in MS Biotec^® and we will leverage the capabilities of our expanded team to support growth in this exciting and important part of the value chain. We look forward to working closely with Bill and the teams at the platform's subsidiary companies to enhance operations, drive growth and create value."

About Warburton Technology
Warburton Technology, based in Ireland, is the parent company of Multimin^® USA, which is based in Colorado and develops, markets and sells a range of unique patented injectable trace mineral combination products for veterinary use.  

About MS Biotec^®
MS Biotec^® is the leader in commercial of anaerobic fermentation and stabilization offering livestock producers innovative, science-based and commercially viable natural, non-antibiotic solutions to alleviate difficult health and production challenges. 

About Paine Schwartz Partners
A global leader in sustainable food chain investing, Paine Schwartz Partners is a private equity firm focused exclusively on investment opportunities in the fast-growing, dynamic global food and agribusiness sectors. The firm's investment, operations and finance professionals invest throughout cycles across the food and agribusiness value chain, and bring a collaborative and active management approach to portfolio companies. For further information, please see www.paineschwartz.com.

Contacts:
Andy Brimmer / Aaron Palash
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
+1 212-355-4449

SOURCE Paine Schwartz Partners