By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media Massachusetts-based mission-driven seed breeding technology company Inari has raised $208 million in capital through a Series D co-led by its founder Flagship Pioneering, bringing total funding to-date for the company to $352 million. This latest round also saw participation by a number of existing investors including Alexandria Venture Investments, […]
By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media The British impact investor and development finance company CDC Group has made one of its largest corporate debt investments in its history – committing $100 million to ETG Group in support of farmers across Africa and Asia. This investment is not only one of the largest in CDC history, […]
By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media If the deals of 2021 had a theme, it would be SPAC mergers. The latest name in agtech to go public via such a deal is Boston-based biotech giant Ginkgo Bioworks (Ginkgo), which has announced it is merging with publicly traded special purpose acquisition company Soaring Eagle Acquisition Corp. […]
By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media Rapidly growing demand from food, feed, industrial, and biofuel customers, including producers of renewable diesel, has driven Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) to announce it is investing $350 million to build the first dedicated soybean crushing plant and refinery in North Dakota. “ADM’s commitment to preserving and protecting our planet’s […]
By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media Early stage food tech investor and accelerator Big Idea Ventures (BIV) has announced a final close of its $50 million New Protein Fund I with Japanese confectionery brand Meiji Holdings joining as its latest investor. Meiji joins existing investors – including some of the world’s top names in food […]
By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media Sustainable food tech innovator Benson Hill is going public at a valuation of $2 billion through a merger with special purpose acquisition company Star Peak Corp II. Upon closing of the deal, the combined company, which will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, will operate under the […]
By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media Bain Capital Private Equity (Bain) has outbid a cast of rivals to acquire pan European food company Valeo Foods Group from CapVest in a deal exceeding €1.7 billion (US$2 billion). Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, since its founding in 2010, and led by CEO Seamus Kearney, Valeo is a leading […]
CONSULTANT’S CORNER: Please enjoy this posting of Consultant’s Corner — where the industry experts from HighQuest Partners provide insight on the latest activities in the ag investing and agtech space. By Philippe de Lapérouse and Mark Zavodnyik, HighQuest Consulting Emissions and pollutants generated by food and agricultural production globally have long been considered a major factor in causing climate change. […]
By Jeremy Stroud, University of Oxford, with contributions from Michael DiPaolo, AQUAOSO Introduction Water is a foundational resource that underpins all economic, social, and environmental activity. Of the many ways in which water impacts humans, its intersection with agriculture is perhaps the most prevalent. The agri-food matrix accounts for 72 percent of freshwater use, and […]
By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media FarmTogether, a tech-driven, online investment marketplace that enables individuals to invest in U.S. farmland, announced its partnership with Backstage Capital, an investment firm focused on backing startups founded by people of color, women, and members of the LGBTQ community. Through this tie-in, the Backstage Capital investor community will have […]
By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media The Halsall Estate Ltd, a company established this January by Tom Morris, the founder and CEO of UK-based retail chain Home Bargains, has acquired nearly 5,000 acres of farmland in Halsall, West Lancashire from the Church of England in a deal valued at £50 million (US$70 million). Morris founded […]
By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media Computer vision and robotics company Precision AI has raised $20 million in Seed equity and grant funding co-led by At One Ventures (founded by GoogleX co-founder Tom Chi) and the Industrial Innovation Venture Fund of BDC Capital. Also participating in the round were Fulcrum Global Capital, and Golden Opportunities […]
