Yara Suomi Oy announced on Sept. 1 the acquisition of Ecolan Oy, a Finnish producer of recycled fertilizers. This is Yara’s first acquisition in the organic fertilizer segment, and reflects its commitment to play a bigger role in organic farming and in contributing to the circular economy, said Yara International ASA, Oslo.
Ecolan utilizes industrial side streams to produce high-quality fertilizers for agriculture and forestry, and recovered materials for earthwork and binders. The company has two main production facilities in Finland and 21 employees. Korona Invest Palvelurahasti 1, a Finnish private equity firm managed by Helsinki-based Korona Invest Oy, has held a majority stake in Ecolan Oy since 2015.
Yara said it has had good cooperation with Ecolan during the past years, and in 2019 brought a new organic fertilizer line with a high nitrogen content, which was produced by the Finnish firm, to the Finnish market.
“With this acquisition, we will be able to offer organic fertilizers also to markets outside Finland,” said Timo Räsänen, Director for Specialty Products for the Nordic and Baltic countries at Yara.
“Starting with small-scale production, Ecolan has, with the support of Korona Invest, grown into one of Finland’s leading circular economy industrial companies. Through Yara’s ownership, Ecolan’s know-how can be utilized also internationally,” said Korona Invest Chairman Vesa Lehtomäki.
Yara did not disclose the price tag on the acquisition.