Paine Schwartz Partners, a global leader in sustainable food chain investing, announced Dec. 9 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.

According to the announcement, the AH&N platform builds on Paine Schwartz's focus on the animal health and nutrition sector and will also include MS Biotech Holdings, 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 will serve as chief executive officer of AH&N, Paine Schwartz said, noting that Weldon brings extensive experience in cattle, as well as in evaluating and integrating technology companies during a 20-plus year career at Elanco Animal Health. Weldon led Elanco's Global R&D and Regulatory organization for eight years and later created and ran Elanco Nutritional Health Business Unit. In addition, 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 CEO, and Leander van der Walt will continue to lead MS Biotec as its CEO, Paine Schwartz said.

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 U.S. by Multimin USA, a subsidiary of Warburton Technology based in Colorado. Multimin has also recently been launched in the U.K., Ireland and France and is planning approval in additional European and other global markets, the announcement said.

MS Biotec is a 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," Weldon said. "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."

"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 Paine Schwartz CEO and founding partner Kevin 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."

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.