August 10, 2018
Innovatus Capital Partners Announces Two Latin American Trade Finance Deals Under Newly Established Agriculture-Focused Platform
New York, New York, August 10, 2018 – Innovatus Capital Partners, LLC (“Innovatus” or the “Firm”), an independent adviser and portfolio management firm with approximately US$1.6 billion in assets under management, today announced that it has finalized two trade financing agreements with leading companies in the agronomic services and peanut production industries in Latin America.
The Firm signed two separate US$10 million pre-export financing agreements – the first with Brazil’s Brumau Comercio de Oleos Vegetais Ltda, (“Brumau”), one of the country’s largest peanut processing and export companies, and the second with Agrofertil S.A. (“Agrofertil”), one of Paraguay’s leading crop inputs distributors and agronomic services companies. Both transactions are collateralized by inventory.
These transactions represent the first two investments from the Firm’s trade finance strategy, which is designed to support all aspects of the agricultural export process, providing both upstream and downstream borrowers financing for supplies, processing, storage and distribution of food commodities. Innovatus offers senior-secured financing to agricultural platforms with large footprints and long-term track records of successful crop delivery across global markets, including Latin America, Eastern Europe and Africa. Offtake agreements are typically negotiated between established buyers and the producer prior to the financing agreement, guaranteeing a market for future production.
“Our team has a breadth of pre-export, direct lending experience and a deep network in Latin America, and we are well positioned to capitalize on market inefficiencies and make a positive impact in the agricultural sector across the region,” said David Anderson, Co-Head of the Innovatus Trade Finance team. “We are pleased to announce our first two investments from the firm’s trade finance strategy, and to partner with Brumau and Agrofertil and their exceptional leadership teams to provide reliable capital as they continue to expand their capabilities.”
Brumau will leverage the structured trade finance facility to purchase raw peanuts in the current harvest and process them into a number of exportable products, including threshold peanuts, blanched peanuts, peanut oil or meal.
“We are excited to further diversify our lending group through this financing from Innovatus,” said Mauricio Martani, General Manager of Brumau. “The Firm has significant expertise working with global food and agricultural businesses, as well as strong relationships with global platform companies. We are very pleased to have their backing and look forward to a long relationship.”
Agrofertil will use the capital provided by Innovatus to purchase farming inputs to be sold to local commercial farmers, who will grow soybeans to be delivered to the Borrower upon the 2018/19 harvest.
“Innovatus’ strong network and experience in Latin America makes them a welcomed addition to our lender-base,” said Adilson Antonio Junior, Administrative Director of Agrofertil. “We look forward to a long and growing relationship with a firm that has a clear understanding and knowledge of our market.”
About Innovatus Capital Partners, LLC
Innovatus adheres to an investment strategy that identifies distressed, disruptive and growth opportunities in the less obvious market segments across multiple asset categories with a unifying theme of capital preservation, income generation, and upside optionality. The Firm has a dedicated team of trade finance investment professionals with deep experience in emerging market lending and a strong network of relationships across local contacts and industry participants. The Innovatus Trade Finance Strategy is focused on providing first lien senior-secured financing to agricultural business platforms predominantly across Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe and Africa. Further information can be found at innovatuscp.com.
About Brumau
Brumau Comércio de Óleos Vegetais Ltda. is Brazil’s largest dedicated peanut processor and exporter, headquartered in Catadunva, São Paulo. The company was founded in 1989 as a crusher of peanuts and seller of peanut oil and meal. In 2012, Brumau added raw and blanched peanuts to its production. This expansion enabled the company to diversify towards a growing market in healthy snacks. Today Brumau operates four facilities in the State of São Paulo.
About Agrofertil
Agrofertil S.A. is one of Paraguay’s leading crop input distributors and agronomic services companies. The company was founded in 1993 in Cuidad del Este as an agronomic technical assistance company. Today, Agroertil is a reliable provider of crop inputs and originator of grains and oilseeds across its 20 distribution centres with a network of 15 elevators in Southeastern Paraguay. Agrofertil supports farmers, employment, and agricultural best practices for sustainable operations in Paraguay.
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Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
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