Trans-Oil, Moldova’s largest agribusiness company, will take over the local company Racova, active in agriculture and food industry, in a transaction estimated at over USD 100 million, which should be completed by December.
Despite their due diligence, Rabobank missed the fact that they were buying land in a village racked with corruption and land rights abuse, and from sellers deeply involved in murky business.
Investigation finds Rabobank acquired farmlands in Romania that had been sold without the knowledge or consent of the farmer owners.
La concentration des terres dans les mains de grands groupes explose, notamment en Europe, au détriment des petits agriculteurs. Comment réformer un modèle aux airs d’agrobusiness ?
AB InBev est actionnaire du Natural Resources Value Fund, une sicav luxembourgeoise qui a acheté 10.000 hectares de terres agricoles et de forêts en Roumanie.
US private equity firm Paine & Partners expanded its farm and agribusiness holdings on Wednesday with the acquisition of a leading European Union agricultural producer, Spearhead International Ltd, for an undisclosed amount.
Hong Kong-listed Fosun International, a conglomerate with investments in businesses ranging from holiday resort chain Club Med to upmarket circus show Cirque de Soleil, is to buy 9% of German farm-operator KTG Agrar.
El acaparamiento de tierras se está produciendo también en la UE, con una implantación que va en aumento, especialmente en los países del este de la UE, como son Rumania, Bulgaria, Hungría y Polonia.
Gupta family, one of the most powerful business dynasties in India alongside that of Lakshmi Mittal, bought two farms with a total of 2,500 hectares of land in Teleorman.
With more savvy investors buying up farmland, land prices have doubled within five years and the result is mega-farms like KTG Agra, which owns 50,000 ha in eastern Germany, Lithuania and Romania.
The Romanian NGO Eco Ruralis has published several fact sheets on foreign companies grabbing farmland in Romania, including Padova Agricultura, Riso Scotti, Generali, and Bardeau.
The land market in Romania is left to chance, any occasional businessman being free to trade arable or forest land as long as they have a good lawyer or are up to paying a bribe to some civil servant.
