Crop Pro Insurance seeks to de-risk farmers' adoption of new technologies by covering products like drones, precision ag sensors and seed genetics.
The Australian super-owned vehicle was put on the block by manager AgCap in March in an auction run by CBRE.
GMO will remain an investor in funds run by the subsidiary, which manages $2.1bn of agricultural land.
The $323bn pension fund last year proposed expanding its forestland program, which has consistently missed its benchmark since inception, to include agricultural products.
The company is set to list farmland, ranch and timberland opportunities across the Americas worth up to a few million dollars.
The Oregon Investment Council plans to hire three new investment officers to focus on its alternative investment strategies, which include timberland.
The $66bn pension reported timber returns of more than 8% over the past year, outpacing its benchmark NCREIF Timberland Index’s 3.35% growth over the same period.
Ruud Schers, a lead author of a recent Rabobank report examining overseas agricultural acquisitions by Chinese companies, tells Agri Investor they are motivated by a mixture of economic and political goals.
Paine Schwartz Partners’ UK-based portfolio company’s acquisition adds about 100 local farmers to its network of suppliers.
The OCC’s investigation could be the first step in dismantling the regulation that restricts a bank’s ability to invest in private equity.