Bloomberg | 12 November 2009
By Rodrigo Orihuela
Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- BrasilAgro - Companhia Brasileira de Propiedades Agricolas, an agricultural real-estate company, plans to invest $100 million to buy farmland in Brazil, president Alejandro Elsztain said.
BrasilAgro will use cash left from a $300 million initial public offering in Sao Paulo’s stock exchange in 2006 to expand its holdings in the country, Elsztain, 43, said in an interview at his office in Buenos Aires yesterday. He declined to give a timeframe for the investment.
“We have a lot of deals in the pipeline to continue buying in Brazil,” said Elsztain.
BrazilAgro owns close to 200,000 hectares of farmland in Brazil, said Elsztain. Cresud Sacifya, the biggest farmland owner in Argentina, holds 22.89 percent of BrasilAgro and operates the company. Elsztain, who founded both companies, is also the chief executive officer of Buenos Aires-based Cresud.
Cresud also plans to invest about $20 million to buy land to raise cattle and produce dairy products in Uruguay, Elsztain said.
