Canadian dairy co-operative, Agropur, has raised C$300 million (US$215 million) from a group of institutional investors led by Quebec’s public pension fund manager, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) which committed C$150 million, according to a statement on the CDPQ website.

 

Other investors involved in the investment include National Bank, which invested C$37.4 million, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, which invested C$35.2 million, Investissement Québec, which invested C$32.4 million, Capital regional et coopératif Desjardins (CRCD), which invested C$25 million, and Fondaction CSN, which invested C$20 million.

 

This investment transaction brings CDPQ’s investment in Agropur to $300 million, and brings the group’s total investment in Agropur to C$770 million after the same group invested C$470 million in the cooperative one year ago in December 2014.

 

“With this new addition of long-term capital, Agropur Cooperative will be able to continue to grow and strengthen its position among the largest North American dairy processors,” said Marc Cormier, Executive Vice-President, Fixed Income at CDPQ. “This investment is an integral part of our strategy aimed at furthering the development of high-performing Québec businesses.”

 

The investment comes at an uncertain time for the Canadian dairy sector, which is seeing slow-growing domestic consumption, and the impending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, which would see Canada allow TPP countries, including New Zealand and the U.S. greater access to the historically protected Canadian dairy market.

 

Despite these uncertainties, Agropur processed more than 5.4 billion liters of milk in 2014 at its 40 plants across North America, generating C$4.7 billion in sales, according to Reuters.