What Unigrains does

Unigrains is a Paris-headquartered private investment firm founded in 1963, specializing exclusively in long-term equity investment in French and European agri-food companies. As of 31/12/2025, the firm manages 1,300M€ in assets under management and deploys 1,100M€ of equity capital, supported by 30 dedicated agri-food investment professionals and a broader staff of 101-250. Unigrains is majority-owned by the French cereal profession through AGPB and AGPM, giving it structural roots in the upstream grain value chain and access to deal flow that non-affiliated buyers cannot replicate.

The firm operates a multi-vehicle platform: its core capital funds hold 80 active participations, the Unilis vehicle targets earlier-stage and innovation-stage agri-food investments (e.g., the December 2025 €6M participation in Agreenculture's Series A), and dedicated regional platforms such as Unigrains Italia anchor cross-border activity. The historical track record spans 1,100+ companies supported since inception across 25 countries, with a current pace of 10-20 operations per year and ~150M€ deployed annually. Activity is organized around direct minority/control equity, co-investment and club deals (e.g., co-financing of Le Duff's June 2026 acquisition of Panamar Bakery), and portfolio build-ups (e.g., La Prensa Etichette's May 2026 acquisition of Scriba in Italy).

Unigrains monetizes through management fees on its AUM, transaction-related fees on co-investments, and carried interest / capital gains on realizations. Differentiation is reinforced by proprietary intellectual assets such as the recurring RSE/CSR framework (6th edition in 2026) and the Rencontres d'Unigrains research forum (4th edition in 2026), alongside ESG credentials including an Index Egalité score of 92/100 and France Invest parity recognition. The platform combines patient, sector-locked capital with a co-investment network, making Unigrains a category-of-one specialist in European agri-food private equity.

Name

Unigrains

Legal name

UNIGRAINS, société anonyme au capital de 7.000.000 €

Website

https://unigrains.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Unigrains is a Paris-based, sector-specialist private equity firm founded in 1963 that provides long-term equity capital to French and European agri-food companies, managing 1,300M€ in AUM across 80 active participations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agribusiness Private Equity

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Miscellaneous Financial Investment Activities (523999)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

ESG Integration / Responsible Investment Funds (Broad ESG) (FSANAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

ESG/Sustainable Investment Advisory (FSAEAAAJ)

Keywords

• Agribusiness private equity
• Agri-food investment
• Sectoral equity financing
• Agricultural asset management
• Long-term equity capital

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Long-term equity investment in agri-food and agro-industry companies: Core revenue model: investor-partenaire that deploys own equity (fonds propres) into French and European agri-food companies of all sizes. Portfolio of 80 active participations, with 10-20 new operations and ~150M€ invested per year. Returns generated through capital gains and dividends on the 1,100M€ of equity (as of 31/12/2025) invested across direct and indirect holdings in 25 countries. Holding period is explicitly long-term ("Engagement de long terme").
2. Asset management / funds under management (1,300M€ au 31/12/2025): Manages third-party capital in addition to own equity, with total assets under management of 1,300M€ as of 31/12/2025 (vs 1,100M€ of own equity). Generates management fees and carried interest on externally-managed vehicles; "investisseur sur fonds propres" and "indépendant" indicate Unigrains' balance-sheet capital is the primary source of investment firepower.
3. Co-investment / club deal structuring alongside agricultural credit institutions: Recurring co-investment model: pools Unigrains' capital with peer agricultural lenders and investors (IDIA, UNEXO, Sofilaro, Crédit Agricole d'Ille-et-Vilaine, BNP Paribas BNL Equity Investments) to finance larger transformational deals (e.g., Groupe LE DUFF's acquisition of Panamar Bakery, La Prensa Etichette's acquisition of Scriba). Revenue mechanics for Unigrains are equity returns on its share of the pool, not advisory fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Unigrains is a sectoral, long-term private equity investor that deploys its own equity capital (1,100M€ at 31/12/2025, 1,300M€ AUM) directly into French and European agri-food and agro-industry companies of all sizes. It provides patient equity financing for development projects, M&A and generational transitions, supports 80 active portfolio participations, executes 10-20 operations per year (~150M€ deployed annually), and supplements balance-sheet investing with third-party asset management and an Italian regional platform (Unigrains Italia).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Long-term equity investment in agri-food and agro-industry companies Core private equity offering deploying Unigrains' own balance-sheet equity into French and European agri-food and agro-industry companies of all sizes (SMEs to large groups), supporting development projects, M&A, and generational ownership transitions. The offering is a long-term sectoral partnership: 10-20 new operations per year, ~150M€ invested per year, 80 active participations across 25 countries.
• Asset management / third-party fund management Management of third-party capital alongside Unigrains' own balance-sheet equity, generating management fees and carried interest on externally-managed vehicles focused on the French and European agri-food value chain. Total AUM of 1,300M€ as of 31/12/2025.
• Unigrains Italia - Italian and Southern European agri-food investment platform Dedicated regional platform providing bilingual deal execution and equity investment in Italian and Southern European agri-food companies, typically in co-investment with BNP Paribas BNL Equity Investments. Supports acquisition financing and build-up strategies for portfolio companies in Italian food, packaging, and adjacent value-chain segments.
• Unilis - Innovation-stage agri-food and agtech investment vehicle Specialized Unigrains Group vehicle providing equity and quasi-equity financing to earlier-stage and growth-stage agri-food, agtech and foodtech companies to bridge the gap between prototype and industrial deployment. Co-invests alongside other specialized venture investors and agricultural credit partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supported 1,100+ companies since creation, with 80 active participations across 25 countries and 1,300M€ AUM (31/12/2025)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• France InvestcoreOthersUnigrains is a signatory of France Invest's Charte de Parité Femmes-Hommes (a charter containing ~30 commitments in favour of gender parity). France Invest is the French private equity industry association.
• Agri-agence FertminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUnigrains supports Fert, an international agri-agency, as part of its contribution to the agroecological transition. Highlighted in the 2025 RSE report as a partner in advancing the agroecological transition ("En soutenant l'Agri-agence Fert, Unigrains contribue à la transition agroécologique").
• Agricéréales (Unigrains group entity)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricéréales is a related entity within the broader Unigrains corporate group, sharing the same extra-financial reporting calendar (DPEF 2021-2024) and corporate governance. The two entities publish parallel DPEFs each year.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Demeter Partners: French/European PE and VC firm dedicated to the ecological and energy transition, with a strong agri-food, agritech and food-tech vertical. Directly comparable to Unigrains as a sector-specialist investor targeting European agri-food companies of similar sizes.
• Céréa Partenaire: French mid-market PE firm exclusively dedicated to the agri-food value chain. Most direct sector-specialist competitor to Unigrains, investing in SMEs and mid-market French and European food and agribusiness companies with a long-term partnership approach.
• Sofiprotéol (Avril Group): French agro-industrial group (formerly Sofiprotéol) with an integrated investment and financing arm serving the oilseed-protein and broader agri-food chain. Comparable to Unigrains as a sector-anchored investor with own-equity patient capital supporting French agricultural and food companies.

Broad incumbents

• Bpifrance: French public investment bank that deploys capital across virtually all sectors including significant agri-food and agro-industry exposure. Comparable as a French long-term investor in the same target universe, but operates as a broad public-mandated investor rather than a sector specialist.
• Eurazeo: Major listed French private equity firm with consumer/food verticals. Overlaps with Unigrains in mid-to-large European food companies but operates as a multi-vertical generalist with fund-driven economics, vs. Unigrains' own-balance-sheet model.
• PAI Partners: Large European PE firm with a strong food and consumer track record (e.g. bakery, ingredients). Competes with Unigrains for upper-mid-market French/European food assets but at meaningfully larger AUM scale and with classic fund-driven exit timelines.
• SWEN Capital Partners: French sustainable and ESG-focused investment firm with PE/VC and infrastructure strategies. Comparable to Unigrains on the extra-financial/RSE side (sustainability-linked RCF, ESG reporting discipline) and increasingly on agri-food thematic capital.

Others

• IDIA (Crédit Agricole): Investment vehicle of Crédit Agricole dedicated to the agricultural and agri-food sector. Frequent co-investor with Unigrains (e.g. LE DUFF/Panamar) and a natural partner/peer in channelling French regional banking capital into the agri-food chain.

Emerging players

• Omnes Capital: French private equity firm with deep tech, energy transition and agri-food verticals. Comparable as a French multi-stage investor with an agri-food sleeve, though less concentrated on food/agriculture than Unigrains.
• Capagro: French venture capital firm dedicated to agri-food and agritech innovation. Adjacent to Unigrains on the growth/early-stage end of the same value chain, complementing Unigrains' mid- and large-cap focus via the Unilis vehicle (e.g. Agreenculture Series A).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/unigrainsgroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments74 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Unigrains