The ACB releases new report which shows the extent to which South African agribusinesses dominate the farm to fork agribusiness value chain in Africa-worth billions of dollars.
Thousands of miles from pricey U.S. farmland, a Michigan pension fund is expanding its investments in Australian farms, betting on good returns from the comparatively cheaper assets and surging commodity prices.
- Reuters
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09 September 2014
German airline Lufthansa in talks with several investment firms about taking on management of a private equity fund that will invest into farmland in Cameroon and Eastern Europe to grow oil crops.
AP Pension, the €16 billion Danish pension fund, has now invested €40 million into local farms representing half of its farmland allocation for the year.
The Swedish pension fund is considering increasing its exposure to Southern Pastures, a New Zealand dairy farm fund, alongside six other investors including the New Mexico Education Retirement Board.
Swedish pension fund AP Fonden 2 has invested $750 million to TIAA-CREF Global Agriculture II, confirming rumours that the pension was one of three foreign investors contributing to the vehicle’s $1.4 billion fundraise.
A Scandanavian pension fund has poured $20 million into Australian dairy farms to help lift stagnant local milk production.
- Stock & Land
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25 August 2014
Teays River Investments, LLC, a big farmland and agribusiness investment company opted to sell two irrigated strawberry and vegetable cropland holdings, purchased just a few years ago, at a $650,000 loss.
- Farmland Intelligencer
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22 August 2014
US pension fund manager TIAA-CREF has secured $1.4bn for its second agriculture fund from three unnamed investors, according to a document filed with the SEC.
Český fond půdy hopes to make 2,000 individual land acquisitions a year.
Some 33 percent of pollsters voted that family offices were showing the greatest appetite for the asset class, while 31 percent pointed to institutional investor demand.
US pension fund manager TIAA-CREF, under pressure to put cash to work after having raised $2bn for TIAA-CREF Global Agriculture, agreed to purchase 12,528 ha of farmland in Florida.
- Farmland Investor
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12 August 2014
A US pension fund investor that flies under the radar has continued its spending spree on quality agricultural land in WA with the purchase of two farms in Grass Patch for about $9 million.
- West Australian
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11 August 2014
Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of the Oakland Institute, argues that the time has come for a more holistic discussion of land deals that places transfer of land in both the developed and developing worlds along the same continuous spectrum.
Wall Street is looking for ways to invest in America’s heartland, and the government is ready to play matchmaker.
A small but growing group of sophisticated investors and bankers are combining crops and the soil they grow in into an asset class that ordinary investors can buy a piece of.
- New York Times
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22 July 2014
The $128-million deal that saw Canada Pension Plan acquire 46,500 hectares of Saskatchewan farmland was "wrong, both legally and morally," says Rick Swenson, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan.
- Star Phoenix
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22 July 2014
According to data provider Preqin, there are 25 private equity funds targeting agriculture investments, with a total target of $1.1 billion.
For private equity houses, pension funds and family offices, the sprawling farms of sub Saharan Africa are the new land of plenty.
UK pensions funds and asset management companies potentially have up to £37 billion invested in ‘land grabs’ worldwide, according to a report published by Friends of the Earth.
- Blue & Green
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12 June 2014
One industry leader estimates that $10 billion in institutional capital is looking for access to US farmland, but that number could easily rise as investors seek to ride out uncertain financial times by placing their money in the perceived safety of agriculture.
- Oakland Institute
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04 June 2014
This report identifies broad trends in farmland investing with the potential to affect countries in the Global North and Global South
This year Rabo Farm's first fund, with a size of € 315 million, will be fully subscribed, and a new fund, the Rabo Farm Europe Fund II, will be launched.
Australia’s major banks are funding large-scale illegal “land grabs” in the developing world and enabling illegal logging, child labour or other human rights abuses.
- Sydney Morning Herald
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28 April 2014
"You don't have to be a financial genius to sense an opportunity here."
- Interactive Investor
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22 April 2014
There are countless examples of governments handing it over at bargain prices to foreign investors, ranging from hedge funds to biofuel producers.
A new survey of 223 asset managers, pension plans and pension consultants with combined assets of $13.4 trillion shows investor interest in farmland
Investment bank Macquarie Group is buying two farms in Australia's "wheatbelt" bringing its total holdings in Western Australia to 45,000 ha.
- Central Advocate
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27 Mar 2014
Foreign companies, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds are ready and willing to invest in the Australian farm sector, but many parts of the industry are still not investment-ready.
- The Australian
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26 Mar 2014
There is growing interest from international investors in the New Zealand agricultural sector, particularly from wealthy Europeans, boutique funds manager Mint Asset Management says.