Two LPs sell stakes in LatAm agri fund

Two institutional investors sold their stakes in Aqua Capital’s AGF Latin America fund last month, according to UK regulatory filings.

Kalat Investments, a Belfast-based investment office, sold its stake to Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual and Madrid-based specialty pharmaceutical company Kevilmare Espana sold 22.7 percent of its stake back to Aqua.

AGF Latam closed on $173.4 million in October 2013, according to Secondaries Investor’s sister publication Agri Investor. The fund surpassed its $150 million target, but missed its $200 million hard-cap, according to PEI’s Research and Analytics division.

Other LPs in the fund include Inter-American Development Bank, North American catering company Compass Group and the Saudi Economic and Development Company. Fifty percent of the fund’s investor base is European, 35 percent is US-based and 15 percent comes from Latin America and the Middle East. A source familiar with the matter told Secondaries Investor the fund’s core group of LPs are happy with the fund’s performance.

Aqua declined to comment and AGF Latam is its only fund. The firm invests in the agribusiness value chain — not primary production or farmland investments. Targeted portfolio companies must operate in Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and other South American countries and have at least $20 million in annual revenues, according to the firm’s website

In September 2011, the firm backed family company Comfrio which operates cold-storage and food service logistics for brands like Starbucks and Outback Steakhouse throughout Brazil. The firm has also invested in micronutrients supplier Aminoagro. Aqua plans to invest in between four and six companies using capital from its AGF Latam and has a strong pipeline, according to the source. The firm could be preparing to close its third deal soon.

Aqua is based in São Paulo and was founded in 2009 by Sebastian Popik, who previously led the Argentine Agribusiness Investment Fund at Pampa Management, and Jorge Luis Ahumada.