Harris Williams, a global investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, announced that it is advising Universal Corporation on its pending acquisition of Silva International. Universal sources, processes and supplies agri-products and is the leading global leaf tobacco supplier. The transaction is being led by Tim Alexander, Andy Warczak and Ryan Ghazaeri of the Harris Williams Consumer Group.
 
Universal, headquartered in Richmond, Va., sources, processes and supplies agri-products. Tobacco has been Universal’s principal focus since its founding in 1918, and the company is the leading global leaf tobacco supplier. The company conducts business in more than 30 countries on five continents. Their revenues for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2020, were $1.9 billion.
 
Silva has provided dehydrated vegetable, herb and select fruit ingredients to the food industry for more than 40 years. Headquartered outside of Chicago in Momence, Ill., Silva’s ingredients are produced using state-of-the-art processing equipment and the latest in food-safety and sorting technology.