Ahern Agribusiness, Inc. (Ahern), the leading vegetable seed distribution company in Mexico and Central America, announced that it was acquired by an investment group comprised of Tene Investment Funds, an Israeli private equity fund focused on growth, and Pulse Agri Investments, an Israeli investment fund specializing in agribusiness. This will allow Ahern to diversify its product portfolio, expand its capabilities and access AI-powered technologies, opening up new opportunities for customers, suppliers and employees.

“We are excited to have found a buyer who shares our vision and who will allow us to take the company to the next level. In the past four decades, we built Ahern and it grew to be a successful, innovative and financially robust company. With the addition of new partners, we will be able to realize our ambitious plans for the future, ”stated Kevin Ahern, CEO of Ahern, who will continue in his current role.

Ahern develops and markets vegetable seed varieties and provides variety-specific advice, with a special focus on Mexico and Central America. With his extensive experience in plant genetics and crop management, Ahern evaluates thousands of varieties of vegetable seeds for suppliers such as Bayer, BHN, Enza Zaden, the Limagrain group (HM Clause, Hazera and Vilmorin), Syngenta, Top Seeds and Vitalis Organic Seeds to determine which is the most effective seed according to the customer's conditions. Additionally, Ahern provides unparalleled customer service, logistics and after-sales support.

With more than $ 1 billion under management and dozens of portfolio companies in various industries operating globally, Tene Investment Funds developed unique expertise to propel agrotech companies toward global growth and leadership in their sectors. 

Pulse Agri Investments is known for being a leader in management and for its professional expertise in agricultural innovation. Those characteristics help accelerate agribusiness growth by identifying and adding complementary technology innovations to its portfolio of products and services, all to achieve outstanding success.

“We are fully confident that Ahern's superior vegetable seed expertise and leadership team of excellence will result in strong growth for the benefit of suppliers, customers and employees,” said Dr. Ariel Halperin, the Senior Managing Partner of Tene Investment Funds.

“We were amazed by Ahern's outstanding performance and highly professional and exclusive team. The infusion of new capital will help us deliver faster on the company's strategic roadmap. In addition, we plan to bring our expertise in agricultural innovation and focus on identifying potential partnerships that can deliver value-added benefits to Ahern clients, "said Roee Tamari, Managing Partner of Pulse Agri Investments and new CEO of the Ahern Seeds board.

Ahern's ambitious plans for the future are focused on:

• outstanding genetics: offering high-yielding seed varieties and the best research and service to our customers and suppliers.
• greater access to AI-powered technologies.
• further research into cutting-edge biological inputs that promote plant health and productivity while minimizing impact on the environment.

Ahern will preserve operational continuity. Kevin Ahern will continue as CEO and will join the executive board of directors as soon as it is formed. The Ahern executive team will remain the same. In addition, the board will include five members of the new ownership group: Roee Tamari, executive resident of the board; Amnon Eshet, Strategic Business Development Leader; and three representatives from Tene Investment Funds: Dr. Ariel Halperin, non-executive chairman of the board; Ran Ben-Or and Eyal Shamear.

Founded in 1981 and based in San Diego, California, Ahern is a leading seed distribution company with a focus on Mexico and Central America that evaluates and markets vegetable seeds to provide each agricultural producer with the best varieties, the best technology and the better crop advice. With his expertise in plant genetics and crop management, Ahern assesses plant size, uniformity, cover, vigor, maturity; fruit size and shape, color, texture and resistance to disease, soil profiles and much more, so that customers receive the best seed for their application. The cornerstone of Ahern's service is unmatched customer service and logistical support.

Tene Investments Funds 

Tene Investments Funds is an Israeli private equity fund. Some of Tene's investments in agriculture include: Netafim, a world leader in drip irrigation; SCR, world technology leader in the dairy products sector; and Gadot Agro, a leading Israeli company in the field of sale and distribution of seeds, pesticides and international agricultural projects.

Pulse Agri Investments is an Israeli investment fund specializing in agribusiness. The company's strategy is focused on maximizing the impact of new agricultural technologies by investing in agribusiness globally as platforms that present unique channels to the market, alongside early-stage companies with complementary innovative technology solutions. Its ultimate goal is to accelerate the growth of both channels and innovative technology companies.