Field Notes: Fiera Comox demonstrates deal execution with Indigenous groups; Global Awards open for nominations

Fiera Comox Partners lays out the roadmap to deal execution with Indigenous groups; Agri Investor Global Awards 2024 open for submissions; how Farmland Partners Inc. ’s $289m portfolio sale to Farmland Reserve materialized; Forestry-Linked Securities looks to exit its portfolio via securitization; NZ Super Fund appoints co-CIOs, and more. Welcome to Field Notes, the start-of-the-week briefing.

Tips and feedback to: binyamin.a@pei.group.

First look

‘The first order of business is to listen’ – deal execution with Indigenous Peoples  

The inaugural deal signed by Fiera Comox’s Global Sustainable Timberland Strategy this summer was notable for one reason more than most – it was structured as a joint venture with Ngāi Tahu Holdings Corporation . NTH is the holding company for the Ngāi Tahu iwi, which is one of the largest indigenous tribes in New Zealand. The holding company had effectively cashed in an ancestral timberland asset for a financial profit, but with a twist. Read more...

They said it

“What is the demand and the price volatility of these assets? If the ratings agency decides that a portfolio of forestry assets is comparable to a portfolio of toll roads, for example, then you can start to build some reference around that”

A source tells Agri Investor that Forestry-Linked Securities’ plan to exit its forestry portfolio through an asset securitization has merit, but its viability will depend on the rating its bonds receive

Impact

GIIN sizes impact market at $1.5trn 

The Global Impact Investing Network estimates there is currently $1.5 trillion in impact investing assets under management by 3,907 organizations – a finding it says represents 21 percent growth in the market since 2019. Continue reading...

Carbon

Agriculture Capital eyes push into carbon credits 

Agriculture Capital has hired former Equilibrium Capital executive Benjamin Vitale as partner as it looks to build on its history in regenerative agriculture through carbon credit sales.

Vitale will lead a scale-up of the firm’s institutional-grade carbon removals and will seek to put in place commercial agreements to monetize regenerative practices the firm has implemented since its founding in 2014.

Deals

‘They came to us for a deal’ – Farmland Partners’ $289m portfolio sale

Farmland Partners Inc. ’s sale of a $289 million portfolio of US farmland came about because The Church of Latter-Day Saints affiliate Farmland Reserve was hunting for new assets.

Farmland Partners chairman and chief executive Paul Pittman told Agri Investor that the New York Stock Exchange-listed company put together a list of assets it was willing to sell, the majority of which were bought by Farmland Reserve. Read in full...

People

NZ Super’s global CIO search ends at home 

The Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, manager of the NZ Super Fund , has appointed Brad Dunstan and Will Goodwin as joint chief investment officers.

The appointments come after what NZ Super called a “global search” to replace former CIO Stephen Gilmore, who departed for the United States’ largest pension fund CalPERS in June.

VC fundraising

Carbon Robotics , a Seattle-based agricultural automation company, raised $70 million in a Series D funding round led by BOND, with participation from NVIDIA ’s NVentures, Anthos Capital , Fuse Venture Partners Capital, IGNITION PARTNERS , Revolution, Sozo Ventures and Voyager Capital .

Agrolend , a Brazilian digital bank for the agribusiness sector, raised $53 million in a Series C funding round led by Creation Investments and Syngenta Group Ventures, with participation from Vivo Ventures , L4, Norinchukin Bank , Valor Capital Group and Yara Growth Ventures , among others.

FarmDroid , a Danish robotics company for farming, raised a €10.5 million funding round led by Convent Capital , with participation from Export and Investment Fund of Denmark and Navus Ventures B.V. among others.

Dive into the detail in this week's Field Notes...