Ex-Telstra Super PE executive turns agribusiness investor

Talevski's partner in the new venture - known as Asuro Group - is Summer Yan, who has worked on a number of food and agriculture investments. She is said to have strong networks in Australia and China and experience setting up product development lines for exports to China.

The origins of Asuro lie in Brightstone Capital Advisors, a consultancy business Talevski set up in 2012. "There was quite a bit of interest from offshore from Asian-based investors who are looking at agribusiness-related opportunities. We had a couple of opportunities and it got to the point where it made sense to establish a group focused on the agribusiness space," he said.

Asuro is currently conducting final due diligence on a A$5 million ($3.7 million) investment and is looking at another deal worth around A$250 million. It will consider opportunities at various points along the food supply chain from production to consumption, including operations, processing and infrastructure.

There are no plans to raise a discretionary fund. Rather, Asuro will operate on a deal-by-deal basis, sourcing opportunities and presenting them to investors, and then setting up dedicated structures as required. Funds may be set up to trade in physical commodities, although these vehicles would be liquid in nature.

"It's all about trust and building relationships. It can take a long time but if you are willing to be more flexible it pays off in the end," Talevski added. For the larger transactions Australian superannuation funds are an obvious target, although there is said to be interest from offshore pension funds as well.

The "protein theory" - whereby companies look to capitalize on growing demand for premium produce, notably meat and dairy, in emerging markets is an established feature of Australian private equity. For example, in the past year or so, two China-focused GPs, CDH Investments and Hosen Capital, have made investments in local beef producers.

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