Paine & Partners Eyes Fund IV

Agriculture private equity firm Paine & Partners is in the early stages of fundraising for its fourth vehicle as the $1.2 billion Fund III nears full deployment.

Further details about the target size and structure of Fund IV were not disclosed.

Fund III closed in 2007 after attracting a number of US institutional investors, including endowments and pension funds.

This week, two of Paine & Partner’s portfolio companies merged when Verdesian Life Sciences, which focuses on the plant nutrient sector, acquired QC Corporation, a ferrous sulphate and micro-nutrients company. The firm is positive about the future of the plant health and micro nutrient sector, citing the macro trends of increasing global population and food demand as factors providing ample opportunity for investment, as food producers seek technology to increase yields.

Paine & Partners are speaking at this year’s Agri Investor Forum in Chicago.