Map from a 2013 presentation given by NCH Capital showing its farms in Russia and Ukraine. NCH, the owner of AgroTerra, bought it's Russian farmland through private equity funds that had Harvard University's endowment and the Dutch pension fund PGGM as its main investors. Harvard appears to have exited in 2018 while PGGM told AgriInvestor in March 2022 that it was planning on divesting.Russia seizes assets of agricultural firm AgroTerra
Reuters | 9 April 2024
MOSCOW, April 9 (Reuters) - Russia has seized companies belonging to agricultural firm AgroTerra and placed them under temporary management, including some backed by Dutch investment firms, a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin showed late on Monday.
The move follows similar asset seizures involving Western firms including Carlsberg, Fortum and Uniper in retaliation for steps taken against Russian companies abroad.
Monday's decree listed AgroTerra assets being placed under temporary management of Rosimushchestvo, Russia's federal property management agency.
"As of now, the Company has not yet received any further details regarding the decree on the transfer of shares within the authorised capital of the AgroTerra Group to the temporary management of Rosimushchestvo," AgroTerra said.
The company said it was operating as usual and that its primary focus was the ongoing sowing campaign.
AgroTerra was one of Russia's top 20 agricultural landholders as of May 2023, according to the BEFL consultancy, cultivating an area of 265,000 hectares.
The decree listed Dutch-registered firms AgroTerra Investments B.V. and AgroTerra Holdings B.V. as part owners of some of the assets.
AgroTerra was founded in 2008 and is a producer and supplier of mass commodity crops and specialty, value-added crops to top food processors.
NCH, a U.S.-based firm that lists AgroTerra as one of its Agribusinesses, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
