

Paine & Partners, the US-based food and agribusiness private equity firm, has closed its fourth fund on $893 million, exceeding an $800 million target.
Paine & Partners Capital Fund IV is the largest private equity fund to focus solely on food and agribusiness companies, according to Paine & Partners and Agri Investor data.
The firm attracted investment from the Middle East for the first time and a mix of institutional investors – mostly endowments – and family offices, according to a press release.
Paine & Partners had a general focus until 2001 when it started to take a serious look at the agri sector and invested a third of Fund II into food and agri. Fund III, a 2007-vintage fund which closed on $1.23 billion and is now fully deployed, invested two-thirds of its capital into food and agri. Fund IV will be the firm’s first fund to focus solely on the sector, Kevin Schwartz, president, told Agri Investor in October. Paine & Partners has deployed more than $1 billion into food and agri over the last 10 years.
The firm raised $417 million during the last four months of fundraising, as an SEC filing disclosed it has raised $476 million by August 12. It held a first close in July, according to the press release, although this was not publicly disclosed.
“Fund IV’s swift close and oversubscription are a testament to Paine & Partners’ expertise deploying a thesis-driven approach to successfully identify, evaluate and invest in the most attractive areas in the space,” wrote W Dexter Paine III, chairman and chief executive and a founding partner of Paine & Partners. “We appreciate the support from our limited partners – both long-standing and new – who have entrusted Paine & Partners as stewards of their capital, and we look forward to investing through Fund IV.”
Probitas Funds Group was the placement agent.