April 11, 2016

ADM Capital has announced the launch of the CCL Kazakhstan “Silk Road” Agriculture Growth Fund with a first close of $40 million consisting of commitments of $20 million each from KazAgro and Export-Import Bank Plc (EXIM). Over the course of the year, the fund expects to expand its geographic reach throughout Central Asia and the Caucasus and expects to reach its second and final close of between US$80 million and US$120 million.

The fund will invest along the entire agricultural supply chain including inputs, which will including supplier and manufacturers of greenhouses, seeds, chemicals, machinery, animal breeders, and suppliers of IT technology; production, including the growing of commodities: processing, which will include value addition and supplier and operators of storage, sorting, and packaging; and logistics and distribution, which will include warehousing, cold storage, and transport and distribution of commodities.

Throughout these segments the fund will invest in equity, quasi equity, and convertible debt investments in businesses that are well positioned to leverage the growth of consumption of meat, dairy, grain, oilseed, vegetable, fruit and fish primarily in Kazakhstan.

“Food consumption within Kazakhstan has increased at 15% compound for the past fifteen years,” said Jason Silm, Partner and Head of Agriculture, ADM Capital in a company statement. “We have identified numerous medium sized companies who have harnessed food import replacement and export opportunities along the whole food value chain. We will invest growth capital into these proven business models to further support expansion by leveraging best in class management teams, whilst focusing on international technology transfer to drive efficiencies and sustainability.”

This will be ADM Capital’s third fund in Kazakhstan, adding to the group’s US$100 million ADM Kazakhstan Capital Restructuring Fund CV and its US$80.8 million Kazakhstan Growth Fund LP – both sponsored by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Kazyna Capital Management.

“ADM Capital has been present in Kazakhstan since 2010 and has built a local team of investment professionals,” said Orinbasar Kuatov, Partner and head of Kazakhstan, ADM Capital. “ADM Capital has been the most active Private Equity investor in Kazakhstan, having made ten investments over the last six years with US$220 million in AUM giving us a unique set of skills and experience to expand into the agricultural sector in Kazakhstan. We are very excited by this new opportunity.”