Overview
L.E.K. brings substantial experience to the diversified agricultural sector, which we have developed by advising leading players across the Americas, Europe, Australia and Asia on a range of strategic, commercial and operational issues. Having completed hundreds of engagements within the diversified agribusiness sector, we understand the unique dynamics and economics of agricultural markets across the industry value chain, as well as the critical issues and challenges facing operators seeking to grow and elevate their performance.
L.E.K. works with agribusiness industry players and investors across virtually all segments of the commodity/specialty crop, animal protein and aquaculture value chains, including agricultural inputs, equipment and machinery, large-scale cultivation, processing/milling/refining, logistics, and distribution. Our deep agribusiness sector expertise and growth strategy development capabilities enable us to deliver uniquely rich insights that lead to meaningful impact to our clients. Core areas of focus include:
- Growth strategy development
- M&A strategy and transaction support
- Go-to-market commercial strategy and execution
- Business performance improvement
Key questions and challenges
Based on our expertise in the agribusiness space, we support our clients in addressing critical issues such as:
- How to best respond to global growth trends and opportunities in agribusiness as the global demand for food ― particularly proteins ― continues to rise
- Where to seek growth opportunities ― both organic and inorganic ― beyond core geographic markets and in adjacent sectors
- How to develop an M&A strategy and roadmap that prioritizes growth pathways and targets
- How to win in existing and new markets versus established competitors
- How to integrate acquired companies more effectively to optimize performance and attain strategic goals
- How to develop more effective commercial capabilities and align with customer needs and preferences
Examples of our work
One of the best ways to understand how we can deliver insights with meaningful impact to your business is through the results we generate for our clients. Some examples include:
Agricultural inputs
- Defined a biotechnology company’s global commercialization strategy for a genetic modification technology platform in crop science, enabling the company to achieve a faster path to profitability
- Developed a strategy for a leading agrichemical company and helped improve profitability across its portfolio of herbicides and fungicides
- Assessed the manufacturing and distribution operations of a client’s recently restructured fertilizer business and evaluated future operational improvement initiatives for the business to drive performance improvement
- Conducted commercial due diligence of a manufacturer of harvesters for a specific agricultural crop across five geographies, enabling the client to fully understand the underlying market growth outlook and likelihood of the target company achieving its plan
Agricultural processing & logistics
- Conducted a detailed feasibility study for an “ABCD” agribusiness operator evaluating an investment in a greenfield oilseed crush plant in an emerging overseas market, enabling the client to invest with greater confidence
- Developed an operational blueprint for a grain logistics network, including investigation of site rationalization, identification of network efficiency improvement opportunities and financial assessments of potential options, to help guide the client’s investment decision-making
- Assisted a global poultry leader in defining its overall growth strategy and developing a pragmatic activation plan for execution of the new strategy
- Assessed a suite of possible operations expansion options for a global milk processor seeking to exploit growth opportunities, providing a clear picture of priorities and key areas of focus
Food and feed ingredients
- Conducted a strategic review of growth opportunities for an international food ingredient manufacturer in order to help it achieve its strategic goals and objectives
- Conducted commercial due diligence of a global flavor and ingredient and pet food company on behalf of a potential buyer to better inform its investment strategy
- Assisted a global agribusiness conglomerate in developing an M&A-led growth strategy for one of its food ingredient business units
- Reviewed the global malt industry structure and market dynamics and assessed the outlook for growth and profitability across key global malt markets to guide a client’s growth strategy
- Developed a business plan and valuation for a joint venture formed to use unique technologies to produce oils from sugar; L.E.K. determined the value of each party’s contributions and the structure of the preliminary agreement
