Rockshield to merge Belle Pulses, Sapientia to create a globally competitive plant-based business

CANADA – Rockshield Capital is set to merge green and yellow split beans processor Belle Pulses with plant-based foods maker Sapientia to create a global plant-based company. 

Bloomberg initially reported that Rockshield had entered into a letter of intent with Novel Agri-Technologies back in April to acquire 100% of Sapientia Technology Inc., 100% of a pulse processor, and 75% of Boku International Inc. 

FoodBev now reports that the company had succeeded in acquiring the first two but chose to terminate its previously announced purchase of Boku International. 

The merger will bring together Belle Pulses’ expertise in processing plant-based ingredients with Sapientia’s knowledge in developing a range of plant-based products including meat alternatives, pulse-based snacks, and dairy-free milk and yogurt. 

The consideration of the acquisition includes the issuance of 3.74 million common shares in the capital of Rockshield and a cash payment of US$6.4 million to the former shareholders of Sapientia.  

Meanwhile, the consideration for Belle Pulses was CAD 30 million (approximately US$23.9 million). 

Rockshield has created a new vertically integrated agri-business division that will oversee the operations of both Belle Pulses (renamed Prairie Plant Farms) and Sapientia which will now trade as The Healthy Table Superfoods, a consumer-packaged goods platform. 

The company intends the division to become a global plant-based foods platform and forecasts it to achieve US$60 million in 2021 revenue with US$15 million in gross profit. 

“Today represents the culmination of 42 years of hard work with Rockshield’s acquisition, which provides a significant opportunity for the Belle Pulses name to be expanded to an even greater audience,” said Tony Gaudet, the founder and CEO of Belle Pulses. 

RockCapital’s foray into the plant-based food market is happening at a time when there is a lot of interest from consumers for a number of reasons chief among them being nutrition.  

According to the Research and Markets, increasing incidence of intolerance for animal protein, growing urbanization with new consumer aspirations, increasing vegan population, and significant venture investments in this sector are some of the major drivers of growth. 

According to the research firm, as a result of increased demand, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.9% from 2020 to 2027 to reach US$74.2 billion by 2027. 

“The trends for plant-based foods are only getting stronger, and we are well-positioned to rapidly scale and capture market share with the closing of these acquisitions and $60 million in revenue as our starting point,” newly appointed president of Rockshield, Marc Aneed, said. 

Rockshield says the companies will provide an enhanced global footprint with significant distribution across B2B and B2C channels. 

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