Agriculture
Deal focus: Cloud Farm brings China agribusiness online
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's "internet plus” policy is an attempt to rejuvenate traditional industries by grafting modern technology onto their tired business models. Agriculture is thought to hold enormous potential for cloud computing and big data,...
Chunxiao invests $16m in China agri e-commerce player
Chunxiao Capital has provided RMB100 million ($16 million) in Series A plus funding for Cloud Farm, a China-based e-commerce platform dedicated to the agricultural sector.
Hosen targets $400m for China food and agri fund
China-focused food and agriculture specialist Hosen Capital is looking to raise $400 million for its second US dollar-denominated fund.
CNEI re-ups in Chinese prawn producer
China New Enterprise Investment (CNEI) has made a follow-on investment of $6.5 million in Zhanjiang Newpro Foods, a leading integrated operator in China’s prawn farming industry.
Deal focus: Aspada backs India's agri-tech 'Uber'
Indian agriculture is woefully inefficient. This is in part due to the extreme fragmentation of land ownership; the UN estimates the average farm holding is 1.6 hectares, or just larger than two football pitches. As a result, the nation’s food producers...
Aspada commits $3.3m to India agri-tech business
Asapada Investment - an India-based investor backed by the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF) - has injected INR200 million ($3.3 million) into Dehli-based EM3 AgriServices.
CIC launches overseas direct investment arm
CIC Capital, an overseas direct investment arm of sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation (CIC), has begun operations and could have in excess of $40 billion put at its disposal.
Mandala commits $15m to India's Godavari Biorefineries
Mandala Capital has invested $15 million in India's Godavari Biorefineries, a producer of foods, biofuels, specialty chemicals and power.
Mandala backs Indian agriculture finance business
Mandala Capital has invested INR1.1 billion ($17.9 million) in Sustainable Agro-commercial Finance (SAFL), a agriculture-focused non-banking financial company (NBFC) controlled by India's Jain Irrigation Systems (JISL).
PEs seek a harvest in rural India
A tractor is one of the most versatile tools on a farm, but it is out of reach for many in rural India because they have no access to credit.
Indian condiments maker to back PE fund
Indian condiment maker Eastern Group will back a INR1.25 billion ($19.9 million) private equity fund in partnership with venture capital firm CapAleph Advisors.
IFC backs Vietnam's Pan Pacific Corp
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has invested $6.5 million in Vietnamese agribusiness and food conglomerate Pan Pacific Corp. in exchange for a 5% stake.
Oman-India fund commits $15.3m to India's GSO Crop Science
The Oman India Joint Investment Fund (OIJIF) has invested INR950 million ($15.3 million) in GSP Crop Science, an Indian agro-chemicals company.
Q&A: Rabo Equity Advisors' Rajesh Srivastava
Rabo Equity Partners is in the process of raising its second India agribusiness fund. Rajesh Srivastava, a managing director at the firm, offers his views on the tailwinds and headwinds driving the sector
KKR backs desert-farming solution
Tough climatic challenges are in store for South Australia, already the nation's driest state. Agriculture, which is worth more than $5 billion each year to the state, will increasingly be affected by rising temperatures and reduced rainfall.
Rabo reaches $80m initial close on India agribusiness fund
Agribusiness-focused Indian GP Rabo Equity Advisors has raised $80 million for its second fund - India Agri Business Fund II - and expects to reach the $100 million mark in the next few months.
KKR backs Australian agribusiness specialist
KKR has committed at least $100 million to Sundrop Farms Holdings, an Australian agribusiness company that has developed technology for growing crops in arid climates.
Lombard invests in Vietnam seafood producer
Lombard has invested an undisclosed sum in Viet Uc Seafood, Vietnam’s leading shrimp seed producer. It will help the company optimize operations as it seeks to become a fully-integrated shrimp producer.
CITIC Goldstone backs $285m Chinese mining acquisition
Goldstone Investment, the direct investment arm of CITIC Securities, is aquatics producer Hubei Wuchangyu's RMB1.75 billion ($285 million) acquisition of a Guizhou province-based mining firm.
Affinity backs poultry producer in debut Malaysia deal
Affinity Equity Partners has secured its debut Malaysia investment after agreeing to buy a significant minority stake in poultry producer Leong Hup International in a deal that values the company at around $600 million excluding debt.
SCPE invests $90m in Vietnam agribusiness player
Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) has completed its second Vietnam deal in the space of a month, paying $90 million for a significant minority stake in agribusiness player An Giang Plant Protection (AGPP).
IFC invests $27.5m in Indian food additives producer
World Bank investment arm International Finance Corporation (IFC) has invested $27.5 million in Lucid Colloids, one of the top four producers of food additive guar gum.
Fonterra to invest in PE-backed Chinese dairy firm
New Zealand dairy group Fonterra has agreed to acquire up to 20% of Beingmate Baby & Child Food, a PE-backed Chinese milk processor, for NZ$615 million ($515 million).
KKR invests $400m in Chinese chicken processor Sunner
KKR has agreed to pay $400 million for an 18% stake in Chinese chicken producer Fujian Sunner Development - the latest in a string of investments intended to leverage consumer demand for food quality and safety.