Binyamin Ali
The Cibus Enterprise Fund has taken an 11.7% stake in Saga Robotic as head of VC Alastair Cooper predicts a 'revolution' in farming robotics.
With a ready and willing buyer in China and logistics that have handled coronavirus well, US corn and soybean farmers just need weather conditions to play out in their favor.
HSBC Pollination will launch a $1bn fund that will invest in forestry and agriculture as well as a $2bn carbon credit fund that will invest in carbon abatement assets such as rain forests.
As we edge closer to the half-year mark since much of the world entered lockdown in March, we take a look at how the agriculture asset class has fared.
Unfold Bio has received an initial $30m in start-up capital from the two founders but future funding rounds could be opened up to external investors.
Food-producing assets have experienced steady demand and cashflows throughout covid-19. LPs looking for yield might want to ask themselves why they’d want to put a time limit on ownership.
Schoen says NewAg Partners is eyeing up assets being prematurely disposed of by funds limited by their ‘10-year drop-dead PE’ structure, as it targets IRRs in the 12-15% bracket.
The new firm believes the aging agricultural workforce means an investment opportunity worth trillions of dollars will open up in the coming years, said Russell Read.
The vehicle has already made four investments across its mandate, with Peruvian agribusiness Phoenix Foods and solar energy solutions provider SunColombia among the early beneficiaries.
The mixed experiences reported by placement agents and GPs suggest a positive covid-19 track record is not necessarily a silver bullet on the fundraising trail.