Alphatech Agriculture and Agri-Truffe Join Forces to Lead European Truffle Plant Market

Alphatech Agriculture, a Swiss group dedicated to agriculture and life technologies, announces the acquisition of Agri-Truffe, a nursery located in Saint-Maixant, near Langon (Gironde), specializing in the production of mycorrhizal truffle plants. Damien Berlureau, who has led the company since 2008, remains at its helm.

This first operation marks the launch of Alphatech Agriculture's European strategy in providing trees for forestry and ornamental purposes. The group aims to bring together family-owned businesses with recognized expertise, while preserving their identity, teams, and local roots.

A first acquisition to build a European leader

"Agri-Truffe is just the beginning," says Nicolas Mousset, founder and president of Alphatech Agriculture. Our ambition is to build the European leader in the selection and multiplication of trees and perennial species, one of the few traditional trades that can be thought of as lasting a hundred years: technology will help us do better, but we will always need women and men to select, produce, plant, and maintain. We want to bring our technological and scientific expertise, our managerial skills, and the necessary financial means for its long-term development to this sector."

The group targets a sector that is deeply rooted in local territories and creates economic, agronomic, and environmental value. Its opportunities are numerous: repopulating forests, greening cities, and reforesting agricultural lands.

Alphatech Agriculture mobilizes, depending on the needs of each of its subsidiaries, a multidisciplinary team bringing together expertise in biotechnology, precision agriculture, and artificial intelligence, as well as in strategy, business development, and finance.

Making Agri-Truffe the global reference for mycorrhization

Founded in 1972 in Gironde, Agri-Truffe has developed expertise in mycorrhization, which involves associating the roots of a young tree with the mycelium of the truffle before planting. Its mycorrhizal truffle plants, produced under an INRAE license, are marketed to truffle growers in France and internationally: the company produces an average of 100,000 per year and has sold over 3 million since its inception in France and in about ten countries. "Joining Alphatech Agriculture opens a new chapter for Agri-Truffe," rejoices Damien Berlureau, general manager of Agri-Truffe. We will be able to accelerate our development, strengthen our research capabilities to further improve mycorrhization and expand its applications, while continuing the work initiated with our teams, clients, and partners around the world."

Alphatech Agriculture intends to engage in a scientific program around mycorrhization, with a clear goal: to make Agri-Truffe the global reference in this field. "Agri-Truffe has a rare expertise, built over several decades. Our goal is to build on this foundation to go further: to better master mycorrhization, ensure reliable production and monitoring of plantations, and develop this knowledge for other applications," emphasizes Charles Vaury, who supports the operational development of Alphatech Agriculture.

A long-term solution for family businesses in transition

The operation also illustrates the model that Alphatech Agriculture intends to offer to family businesses facing a transition challenge. When shareholders wish to sell without the next generation taking over the business, the group can become the majority shareholder while prioritizing operational continuity: management remains in place if they wish to continue, teams are preserved, and new investments allow the company to continue developing over the long term.

This is the approach taken for Agri-Truffe. Its historical shareholders wanted to pass on the business, while Damien Berlureau, who has led it since 2008, wanted to continue its development. "This transition allows us to open a new chapter without renouncing what makes Agri-Truffe," concludes Damien Berlureau. We chose Alphatech Agriculture first for its ability to support our research and development, thanks to high-level expertise in France and internationally. We retain our team, our Gironde roots, and our commitment to quality, now with the resources to go further."

The amount of the transaction has not been disclosed.

About Alphatech Agriculture

Based in Geneva, Alphatech Agriculture is a group dedicated to agriculture and life technologies. It supports the long-term development of businesses and projects by combining scientific and technological expertise, strategic, managerial, and commercial skills, and financial resources. Its ambition is to build a European leader in the selection and multiplication of trees and perennial species, by bringing together companies with recognized expertise that are strongly rooted in their territories.

About Agri-Truffe

Founded in 1972 and located in Saint-Maixant, near Langon (Gironde), Agri-Truffe produces an average of 100,000 mycorrhizal truffle plants per year under INRAE license: green and pubescent oaks, hazelnut, hornbeam, beech, black pine, and lime, associated notably with the black truffle of Périgord (Tuber melanosporum) and summer and Burgundy truffles (Tuber aestivum/uncinatum). It has sold over 3 million in France and in about ten countries, including Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, and Morocco. Led since 2008 by Damien Berlureau, the company supports truffle growers from planting to harvest.