Fundraising

Ex-superfund executive launches China-linked agri investment firm

ASURO Group, co-founded by Robert Talevski and Summer Yan, will raise funds to invest at various points along the food chain and is targeting between A$50m and A$100m.

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The former private markets portfolio manager at Australian superannuation fund Telstra Super, Robert Talevski, has launched an agri-focused private markets investment firm with a professional Australia-China agribusiness investor.

ASURO Group, co-founded by Talevski and Summer Yan, will raise funds to invest at various points along the food chain and is targeting between A$50 million and A$100 million initially, Talevski told Agri Investor. 

Separate funds containing one or more asset will be established and could work much like club deals. The firm is targeting a range of private market investors from high net worth individuals in China to local superannuation funds.

“We will be looking to ‘institutionally’ structure investment opportunities in the agribusiness space. We hope this brings a more formal structure that will appeal to both institutional investors such as Super Funds and private investors,” said Talevski in a press release.

It will specialise in agricultural operations, processing, infrastructure and property, according to a press release. Promoting links between Chinese consumers and Australian produce is top of mind for the company, which also interested in niches like baby food and organic produce, Agri Investor learned.

“Collectively we have established a number of strong relationships with agribusiness firms and operators both domestically and offshore, and we will be looking to partner alongside these operators and firms as investment opportunities present themselves”, said Yan in the release. “The emphasis is for ASURO Group to bring something to the table, whether it be operational skills or leverage off our solid retail and wholesale network across China and the rest of Asia to open new distribution channels with our investment partners and promoting Australian sourced products in the process”, she added.

ASURO hopes to close its first deals in the coming weeks. They have completed deals in the dairy and beef sector together previously.