Proterra raises $200m for Asia food fund
Proterra Investment Partners has reached a final close on a Singapore-domiciled fund that will make food-related investments across Asia with more than USD 200m in commitments.
Billed as Food Fund 3, it received backing from a mix of institutional investors, foundations, and family offices primarily from Europe and Asia. It was incorporated in Singapore in October 2020 under the variable capital company (VCC) structure.
According to a source close to the situation, additional capital is being raised for other vehicles. This is the first fund raised by Proterra's Asia team since it was established as a stand-alone fund manager registered in Singapore.
Proterra is a US-headquartered food and agribusiness private equity firm that spun out from Cargill in 2016. The Asia team has deployed more than USD 1bn in the region via three funds since 2010 and had USD 1.6bn of assets under its food strategy as of end-2021. It operates out of Shanghai as well as Singapore.
Tai Lin, a managing partner at Proterra Asia, said in a statement that the team is pleased to have closed the fund "despite market volatility and travel restrictions."
He added: “In the context of rapidly growing and urbanising populations in Asia, the demand for premium food products as well as the need to decarbonize diets and food supply chains, is increasing at an extraordinary pace.”
Proterra’s second Asia fund closed on USD 700m in 2015. As of the launch of Fund III, it had deployed USD 598m and claimed a portfolio value of about USD 1.1bn, as well as a gross IRR of 18.8%, according to a separate disclosure. This does not include co-investment vehicles that Proterra manages for LPs.
The new fund seeks to capitalise on rising Asian demand for safe, nutritious, and high-quality food. The trend is associated with urban development, and greater a consumer focus on convenience, social impact, and sustainability.
The fund was originally planned to make growth and control investments in China and Southeast Asia, including in renminbi-denominated assets. It will leverage a close partnership with Fidante Partners, a specialist distribution and business development expertise across Europe.
The strategy involves incubating new brands as well as investing in existing businesses. Some of the most recent activity in this vein includes the launch of Singapore-based oat milk brand Oatside, with Proterra providing the bulk of an initial USD 22m of investment.
Proterra was active in Asia as recently as last month when it invested in Singapore’s Aperion Bioenergy, a company that sources used cooking oil for industrial feedstocks. Aperion claimed to have collected more than 500m litres of cooking oil between 2017 and 2021, offsetting 1.5m metric tons of carbon emissions.
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