Agrium, a global leader in the production and distribution of agricultural products, services, and solutions announced it has made an investment as a limited partner in Finistere Ventures Fund II.
Finstere is a venture capital firm that has been investing in the agtech space for more than ten years and is currently seeking investors for, and making placements from its Finistere Ventures Fund II. The fund focuses on backing early stage agtech businesses developing technologies in food production, sustainability, and nutrition across North America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel – all countries noted by Finistere as having strong agtech R&D pipelines.
“We believe this investment will significantly enhance Agrium’s ability to access and evaluate the pipeline of rapidly evolving agricultural technologies, which will enable us to continue expanding our strong portfolio of innovative products and solutions for growers,” commented Agrium’s President & CEO, Chuck Magro in a company statement.
With offices in Canada and the U.S., Agrium supplies critical products and services to a wide range of agricultural producers including crop nutrients, crop protection, seeds, and agronomic and application services with an eye toward sustainability and environmental stewardship.
This investment (in Finistere Ventures Fund II) will play an important role in supporting Agrium’s innovation and technology strategy of developing a total-acre solutions’ offering that is well-positioned to address existing and emerging grower challenges,” said Magro in a recent press release. “Further, Agrium will join a core group of leading, strategic investors in Finistere across the agriculture, farming and food industries, which will provide access to unique collaboration and partnership opportunities.”
The announcement of the company’s investment in Finistere Ventures Fund II is a parallel development with the company’s goal of securing a 25% market share in the U.S. through the construction or acquisition of ag-retail stores, according to Magro. It also comes less than one month after the announcement that Agrium agreed to acquire Cargill’s 18 ag-retail locations that sell inputs including seeds and fertilizer at locations in Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana with annual revenue in excess of $150 million.
“Agrium is in an excellent position,” noted Magro, “…to commercialize these new technologies across our 1,400 ag-retail centers, which service hundreds of thousands of growers in key agricultural markets.”
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Lynda Kiernan