Agriculture’s strong appetite for growth attracts M&A

Organic & Sustainable Agriculture Spot On

AN OAKLINS REVIEW OF GLOBAL INVESTMENT TRENDS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FARMING AND FOOD PRODUCTION SECTOR

If agriculture goes wrong, nothing else will have a chance to go right. M. S. Swaminathan, geneticist and father of India’s green revolution

One of the largest challenges in the global economy is feeding a growing and increasingly affluent population while conserving habitats and natural resources. Sustainable intensification, the global effort to increase crop yields with fewer inputs and without expanding land use, seeks to balance these priorities. These efforts permeate the entire supply chain — from the consumer requiring increased visibility throughout the chain to farm operators focusing on increasing productivity and reducing waste at every step of the process.

These macro-trends are reshaping the way that food is grown and distributed. As a result, companies are securing funding through a variety of sources to address this rapidly changing market. The M&A market has also been active, with both corporate and institutional buyers making acquisitions.

On 23 June, Oaklins held a webinar to explore these trends and opportunities. The panel of six Oaklins advisors, each with specialized expertise in a segment of the global agriculture market, examined the major factors that are shaping agribusiness and the key role of M&A as the sector redefines its objectives.

Setting the tone for the conversation, Oaklins’ President Peter Gray noted that during the past two years the mid-market M&A advisor had completed 44 deals in the agricultural space, many of which were cross-border transactions.