Binyamin Ali
The investment was made into the firm’s tenth iteration of its secondaries timberland fund, which has a $1bn target and had raised $635m by January 2024.
The firm has held a $100m first close on a strategy that promises to mobilize $5.6 for every dollar spent.
Managing partner and co-founder Fabio Sofia says the practice creates ‘some tensions in terms of alignment of interests’ in the value chain.
The firm will extend loans to Ukrainian farmers through its crowdfunding platform and has financed €50m in agricultural loans across Europe.
CAM has added walnuts and pistachios to a portfolio that already includes investments in almonds and macadamia.
The seafood value chain fund has a $150m target and has welcomed Cambridge Associates as a new investor to the strategy.
The European Investment Fund has anchored the Article 9 impact fund, which will provide senior debt to agricultural businesses using sustainable practices.
Farmland prices in the two countries have been on an unbroken upward trajectory since Q4 2020.
Managing partner Matt Leeds says he has ‘dreamt for years that Firehook would be Forward’s first investment’ as the firm begins deploying its $425m vehicle.
Research from Cushman & Wakefield says the region has been a good store of value for more than a decade and has numerous tailwinds in its favor.