By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media
Swiss Life Asset Managers is making a push into Europe’s indoor farming space. Through the Luxembourg-based Swiss Life Global Infrastructure Opportunities Growth II, Swiss Life has formed a joint venture with Milan, Italy-based Planet Farms Holding. The agreement is structured so that the fund will acquire a majority stake in the JV, while Planet Farms will maintain a minority position, lending its agronomic and technical expertise to the entity. The fund will invest up to EUR 135 million to bankroll the development and construction of indoor farming facilities in the region.
Founded in 2018, Planet Farms pioneers indoor agriculture with its technologically advanced vertical cultivation system, lining up critical components to cultivate flavorful and nutrient-rich leafy greens. This innovative approach furnishes a scalable answer to the demand for consistent, premium produce accessible all year without having to worry about Mother Nature’s wrath at economically viable prices while minimizing the ecological footprint.
Vertical farming is a capital intensive approach to growing that has struggled to gain traction among venture capitalists of late. As of 2024, the investment tally into indoor farming startups hovered at $6 billion, according to Crunchbase data, the height of which occurred during the five-years leading up to 2023. Since that time, the pace of big venture capital rounds has slowed, while some promising vertical farming startups have fallen by the wayside.
In March, indoor farming startup Plenty made headlines when it announced that it would be filing for bankruptcy protection in Texas. Plenty oversees a vertical strawberry farm in Richmond, Virginia and a plant science R&D facility located in and Laramie, Wyoming, both of which will continue to operate while the restructuring process is unfolding.
Plenty also secured a commitment for debtor-in-possession financing of $20.7 million, which would give it enough cash runway to support its operations until it emerges from bankruptcy. Plenty’s lineup of backers includes DCM Ventures, the SoftBank Vision Fund, One Madison Group and JS Capital Management, among others. In 2022, the company raised a massive $400 million in a Series E financing round.
For its part, Planet Farms has emerged as a frontrunner devoted to the creation and management of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) installations, primarily advanced indoor farms. The startup specializes in cultivating leafy greens within these sophisticated environments, eliminating the need for pesticides and slashing water consumption by an impressive 95 percent vs. conventional open-field farming methods. Since inception, Planet Farms has attracted both public and private investment, culminating in the development of its inaugural facility in Cirimido, Lombardy.
CEA infrastructure is designed to offer a tangible solution to some of the most critical challenges confronting modern agriculture, chief among which has been escalating input costs. Other challenges include the desire to decarbonize production as well as persistent supply chain issues, owing to extensive logistics networks and extreme weather. The companies say that nurturing agricultural products within precisely regulated environments significantly elevates their quality, freshness and purity while extending their usable lifespan, making CEA agreements a compelling option for food retailers and processors.
Of the new joint venture, Swiss Life Asset Managers Senior Investment Manager Carlo Forattini stated, “CEA infrastructure is establishing itself as the essential modality to produce essential food, becoming mission-critical for its direct and indirect customers. This is validated by strong infrastructure characteristics, such as strong cash flow stability, long-term agreements, asset heaviness and increasing regulation. We are excited to work with the management to continue capitalizing on the business’ strong growth potential and to be the architect of this new infrastructure sub-vertical.”
Planet Farms CEO Daniele Benatoff said, “We are thrilled to form this industrial joint venture with Swiss Life Asset Managers. This partnership represents a significant milestone in our journey, which began in 2018, and has led us to become a leading CEA infrastructure operator. The strength and scale of Swiss Life Asset Managers further underscore the appeal of our CEA business model and the attractiveness of the industry to infrastructure investors. Their support will be instrumental in driving the next phase of growth and will enable the company to become an established European platform.”
The content put forth by Global AgInvesting News and its parent company HighQuest Partners is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. All information or other material herein is not to be construed as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Global AgInvesting and HighQuest Partners are not a fiduciary in any manner, and the reader assumes the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other content on this site.