Agriculture
Adveq in $200m Australia almonds play
Adveq’s real assets division has completed the purchase of 18,000 hectares of almond orchards in Australia for A$211 million ($200 million) from commodities conglomerate Olam International. Municipal Employees’ Retirement System of Michigan and Danica...
Cargill's Black River ups stake in Philippines' AgriNurture
Black River Asset Management, the private equity unit of US agribusiness giant Cargill, has increased its stake in listed food processing and export company AgriNurture (ANI).
India agritech: Green shoots
India’s agricultural sector is fast-growing but inefficient. Private equity is well positioned to capitalize on the need for better technology, information and distribution
Japan online fish seller raises $1.5m VC round
Hachimenroppi, a Japanese firm that operates an IT-enabled fresh fish distribution platform, has secured a JPY150 million ($1.5 million) round of investment from Pygmalion No 2, a venture fund managed by Tokyo-based firm Value Create. Two strategic investors...
KKR, CDH go greenfield in China
KKR isn’t known for backing start-ups, but the risks associated with the firm’s recent foray into dairy farm ownership in China are tempered by the presence of familiar partners. For its first control deal in China and its first greenfield deal globally,...
CIC takes 12% stake in Russian potash producer
China Investment Corp. (CIC) is now the second largest shareholder in Russia's Uralkali - the world's biggest potash producer - after it converted bond holdings into equity equivalent to a 12.5% stake.
MSPEA-backed privatization of Yongye wins board approval
A $339 million management buyout offer for Yongye International, supported by Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia (MSPEA), has won board approval. The US-listed Chinese animal and plant feed maker is now set to be taken private, pending a shareholder vote.
CLSA Capital Partners backs VoloAgri
CLSA Capital Partners (CLSA CP) has invested in VoloAgri Group, a California-based agricultural technology company, which is the third agriculture investment channeled through its Clean Resources Asia Growth Fund.
COFCO PE unit to back Huishan Dairy IPO – report
The PE unit of Chinese food conglomerate COFCO will be among the cornerstone investors in milk producer China Huishan Dairy Holdings, which plans to list in Hong Kong in September.
Horizons, Infinity, IFC invest $65m in Israeli bio-agritech firm Kaiima
Kaiima Bio-Agritech, an Israel-based seed and breeding technology firm, has raised over $65 million from three new investors including Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing’s Horizons Ventures, International Financial Corporation (IFC), and Infinity Group....
Rabo, Proparco invest $21m in India’s Prabhat Dairy
Rabo Equity’s India Agribusiness Fund has invested another INR800 million ($12 million) in Prabhat Dairy, while French development finance institution Proparco has committed INR600 million to the company.
Portfolio: CLSA Capital Partners and Indonesia's Sari Wangi
Sari Wangi is Indonesia's largest private tea player. CLSA Capital Partners invested not so much for exposure to the crop as what the company offers as a platform for distributing agricultural technology.
Omnivore invests in Indian agri-tech startup Barrix
VC investors Omnivore Partners has made a seed stage investment into Bangalore-based Barrix Agro Sciences, which develops pest control products that can reduce the use of chemical insecticides. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Safety first: Investing in China's food supply chain
Driven by rising disposable incomes and lower confidence in food safety, Chinese consumers are willing to pay a premium for quality. PE firms have identified the opportunity, but taking it can be difficult
Japan's Marubeni scales back deal for PE-owned Gavilon
Marubeni has scaled back its offer for General Atlantic-owned US grain trader Gavilon by $1 billion after cutting the company's energy trading arm out of the deal.
Sequoia backs Chinese vegetable producer MBO
Sequoia Capital has teamed up with the chairman and CEO of Chinese vegetable producer Le Gaga Holdings to submit a buyout offer that values the NASDAQ-listed company at around $183 million. Le Gaga has seen its net profit increase fourfold over the last...
AMCG invests $30m in Chevalier for Moraitis acquisition
Asia Mezzanine Capital Group (AMCG) has invested in $30 million in Chevalier International Holdings, aiding its acquisition of Australia's Moraitis, a fruit and vegetable wholesaler backed by Catalyst Investment Managers. AMCG provided the financing via...
IFC considers $20m investment in Hosen’s China agri fund
International Finance Corporation (IFC) plans to invest up to $20 million in Hosen Capital’s New Hope Agriculture and Food Fund II, which launched last June and is targeting $180 million for investments in China’s agriculture sector. It is further...
Guinness Peat exits Australia’s Ridley Corp to PE buyer
Guinness Peat Group (GPG), an investment holding company with interests in Europe and Australia, has sold its 19.5% stake in Australian animal feed company Ridley Corp to a PE firm for A$54 million ($55 million).
CLSA Capital Partners to invest $10m in Indian agri company
CLSA Capital Partners will acquire a 19.6% stake in Camson Bio Technologies, an agricultural biotechnology company, for INR539 million ($10 million).
Infinity Group invests in China COFCO project
Infinity Group, the Israel-based private equity firm created by China Development Bank and Israeli conglomerate IDB Group, plans to invest up to RMB10 billion ($1.62 billion) in the Beijing Eco-Valley project created by food industry giant COFCO Group.
Omnivore Partners buys stake in India's Arohan Foods
Venture capital firm Omnivore partners has bought a significant minority stake in pork integrator Arohan Foods for an undisclosed sum. Assam-based Arohan works with pig farmers across Northeast India and retails pork products across the country.
Leopard backs cross-border kenaf play
When kenaf, an Asian plant known for its short growing cycle, high protein content and strong fibers, was put to practical use, the locals made ropes. Today, its applications are expanding to encompass a wide variety of industries.
Leopard Capital's Cambodia fund commits to Engage Resources
Leopard Capital has invested an undisclosed sum in Engage Resources, enabling the kenaf-based products manufacturer to expand its operations from Thailand into Cambodia. Kenaf is a fibrous plant used in animal feed as well as in the construction and paper...