CropLogic seeks up to A$8m in ASX listing

CropLogic, a venture-backed agtech company based in Christchurch, New Zealand, is seeking to raise between A$5 million ($4.0 million; €3.4 million) and A$8 million in an initial public offering on the Australian Securities Exchange.

The company is 30 percent-owned by New Zealand venture firm Powerhouse Ventures which invested A$2 million in the start-up in May this year. The investment was used to fund the acquisition of Professional Ag Services (ProAg), an agronomy services company based in the US state of Washington.

The capital raised through the listing, which would represent approximately 30 percent of the company’s equity post-IPO, will be used to fund market development, research and development, ASX listing costs and working capital, according to a statement.

CropLogic, which has developed a predictive modelling system that gathers in-field data using wireless networks and satellite systems to help farmers better manage their crops, has been preparing for the listing since July 2016.

“CropLogic’s IPO announcement represents the first demonstration of our ‘intellectual property to IPO’ pathway, typical of our patient capital model,” said Stephen Hampson, managing director of Powerhouse Ventures .

The company has conducted successful trials on potatoes in China, the US, Australia and New Zealand with PepsiCo, Lamb Weston, Simplot and McCain Foods. “CropLogic is also poised to start trials of the CropLogic system in other commodities such as onions, corn, wheat, soybean and cotton,” the company said in the filing.

Corporate finance firm Hunter Capital is managing the listing for the company.