Verdesian Life SciencesVerdesian Life Sciences announced today that Robert Berendes has recently joined the company's board of directors.

"Robert brings a great depth of knowledge of product development and organizational growth," said J.J. Grow, Verdesian Chief Executive Officer. "Our board is delighted to welcome him as our newest member. The perspective Robert brings to Verdesian and our board, coupled with his enthusiasm to work with a growing technology-driven company, are incredibly valuable given our commitment to developing a diverse portfolio of plant health and nutrition products."

Kevin Schwartz, President of Paine & Partners, the majority owner of Verdesian, added his welcome. "Robert is a tremendous addition to the Verdesian board. We at Paine & Partners worked closely with Robert over several years while he was at Syngenta in connection with our investment in Advanta, then one of the largest agronomic seed companies in the world," said Schwartz. "With Robert, we solved a number of complex transactional issues and established a strong long-term relationship based on a shared vision for driving increased agricultural efficiency."

"Verdesian and its portfolio of products are perfect examples of how innovative technology enables farmers to grow more even in the face of environmental considerations and less tillable land," said Berendes. "I'm looking forward to working with Verdesian to help growers achieve greater productivity."

Berendes joins the Verdesian board with a strong background in the agriculture industry. Now co-owner and partner of a-connect, a global consulting firm specializing in strategy implementation, growth projects and change management, Berendes previously worked with Syngenta Crop Protection.

He joined Syngenta in 2002 from McKinsey & Company. From 2007 through 2014, Berendes was Syngenta's head of business development and a member of the executive committee. Additionally since October 2012, he had interim responsibility for the company's research and development. Prior to that he headed the diverse field crops unit, and from 2002 to 2005 was head of the strategy, planning and M&A department.

About Verdesian Life Sciences
Founded in 2012, Verdesian Life Sciences offers patented biological, nutritional, seed treatment & inoculant technologies for high-value specialty crops, row crops, and turf and ornamental markets. Our plant-health products, nutritional catalysts and seed treatments/inoculants help growers farm more efficiently to maximize yields. Verdesian's technologies answer the needs facing agriculture including increasing pressures on food demand, supply and food safety. Verdesian remains committed to the research and development of environmentally sustainable products. Further information about Verdesian is available at www.VLSci.com.

About Paine & Partners, LLC
Paine & Partners provides equity capital for management buyouts, going private transactions, and company expansion and growth programs. Paine & Partners engages exclusively in friendly transactions developed in cooperation with a company's management, board of directors and shareholders. The firm currently makes investments through its $1.2 billion fund, Paine & Partners Capital Fund III, L. P. and related entities.

Paine & Partners focuses on the food and agribusiness industry globally, and its principals, through a predecessor fund, have made successful strategic investments in Seminis, then the world's leading global developer, producer and marketer of vegetable and fruit seeds; and Advanta Netherlands Holdings BV, at the time, the largest independent agronomic seed company in the world. Paine & Partners also invested in Icicle Seafoods, a leading producer, harvester and processer of salmon, pollock, halibut, cod, crab and other seafood products with operations in North and South America and sales globally. Paine & Partners' most recent investments include QC Corporation, a leading producer of specialty micronutrients and ferrous sulfate products; Sunrise Growers~Frozsun Foods, a leading value-added frozen fruit processor and marketer; Eurodrip, a global manufacturer and supplier of drip irrigation solutions; Verdesian Life Sciences, a U.S.-based plant health and nutrition investment platform; Scanbio Marine Group, a leading Norwegian producer of fish protein concentrate, fish meal, and fish oil; and Costa Group, Australia's largest integrated grower, packer and marketer of fresh fruits and vegetables. The complex investment opportunities in today's rapidly evolving agribusiness environment play to the strengths of Paine & Partners' differentiated approach. For further information, see www.painepartners.com.
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9.2.2014