Fundraising

Chief executive Chris Venter tells Agri Investor the company, which financial backers took private four years ago, could seek to co-invest with institutions to seal strategic acquisitions.

The A$100m vehicle has also received significant interest from two overseas investors and a flood of solicitations from potential tenants, its managing director tells Agri Investor.

The $14.3bn pension was also an investor in the previous $893m iteration of the Paine Schwartz Food Chain Fund, which is seeking $1.2bn for the fifth vehicle in the series.

Criterion Africa Partners, a Maryland headquartered firm comprised of the team formerly behind Global Environmental Fund’s Africa Sustainable Forestry program, is targeting $150m for the team’s second vehicle.

The investment in Zebu Investment Partners’ Africa Food Security Fund comes soon after publication of a UN report highlighting agriculture as a key sector in efforts to manage migration flows on the continent.

Supers will create an equivalent of IFM for agriculture sometime ‘in the next few years,' Industry Super Australia’s chief economist told the Australia Forum in Melbourne.

Chowbotics’ founder Deepak Sekar tells Agri Investor why the US robot provider has focused on health and wellness over labor replacement.

Tropic Biosciences is developing decaffeinated coffee varieties and bananas with a longer shelf life using CRISPR gene editing technology that Pontifax managing partner Ben Belldegrun tells Agri Investor is drawing biotech investors into the market.

The development-focused asset manager has clinched a pledge from Kempen Capital for its new fund, which targets up to $300m over the next three years to support ag lending in the developing world.

The firm is one or two LPs away from being able to close the vehicle, investment director Darius Sarshar tells Agri Investor. We zoom in on the fund’s investor base, strategy and expected returns.