Coronavirus

Founder of ‘crowdfarming’ platform says a need for portfolio resilience and desire to directly source fresh produce from local producers is drawing venture capital investors to sustainable ag.

Two European LPs have already defaulted on capital calls, and more are rumored, as LPs get hit with a one-two punch of large, often early capital calls and drying up distributions.

Unlike various other ag segments, fishing and aquaculture will continue to suffer as long as populations are in lockdown and restaurants remain closed.

The covid-19 crisis could lead to institutional investors selling assets as they seek to shore up cash reserves, but livestock and broadacre cropping should be able to weather the storm for patient investors.

FIRB assessment process will now take six months instead of 30 days, with a $0 threshold for review applied to all transactions.

The two profit-for-member funds have delayed their merger date by six months due to concerns about market volatility and to help ease staff working arrangements.

Two of Australia’s largest funds, AustralianSuper and UniSuper, have booked significant devaluations of their unlisted asset portfolios in response to the coronavirus crisis.

During a time of unprecedented global crisis and widespread turmoil across asset classes, ag industry stakeholders continue to feel upbeat about their investments.

Heavily invested legacy vintages might suffer more than funds in market, with the jury still out on whether this crisis will be sharp and short like the GFC, or sharp and longer-lasting running through various cycles.

Lawyers from Paul Weiss pinpoint the areas of a private equity firm operations that may need to be adjusted to account for the coronavirus outbreak, including fund documentation, valuation and banking relationships.