Kébol B.V. to Acquire Witteman & Co. B.V.

Kébol B.V. has purchased the assets and activities of Witteman & Co. B.V., a 150-year-old Dutch company specialized in sourcing and distributing bare root perennial products and conducting business as Darwin Plants, which is currently owned by Ball Horticultural Company.

The acquired assets include the Darwin Plants portfolio of bare root propagated perennial varieties sold in various markets around the world, as well is its related mail-order and liner distribution business. The transaction does not include business activities or the vegetative perennial assortment of U.S.-based Darwin Perennials, which remains under the helm of Ball.

“The natural seasonality of the Darwin Plants assortment perfectly offsets the natural seasonality we’re seeing in our Amaryllis, Tulips and other bulb products,” said Jos van der Drift, director of Kébol.

“Our 2007 acquisition of Darwin Plants based out of Hillegom, the Netherlands, helped put Ball Horticultural Company on the map, as far as perennials are concerned,” says Mike Klopmeyer, general manager of Darwin Perennials, a division of Ball Horticultural Company. “Kébol’s acquisition will allow both parties to leverage their strengths: Kébol gets an additional assortment allowing it to utilize its warehousing and distribution facilities year-round, while Ball Horticultural Company continues to have access to Darwin Plants’ important perennial bare root supply chain.”

Fred Meiland, general manager of Darwin Plants, will join Kébol and remains Darwin Plants’ general manager after the transaction is complete.

Kébol intends for Darwin Plants to become part of Kébol’s overall activities, being brought to market under the name Darwin Plants by Kébol. After transition, all of Darwin Plants’ previous activities will move to Kébol’s location in Rijsenhout, The Netherlands.

The sale is scheduled to close by the end of June 2017.