Contact: Jason Smith 608-310-4198
MADISON – The first private equity fund to focus exclusively on agricultural and clean technologies in Wisconsin has been launched.
“The AgTech Fund is poised to be one of the nation’s largest private equity funds focusing exclusively on agricultural technologies,” said Jason Smith, president of Peak Ridge Capital, a global alternative asset firm with a Midwest office in Madison .
The AgTech Fund will direct its focus toward early and growth stage companies with scalable products or services in the agriculture industry. “The fund will focus on investing in companies that provide better, faster and more efficient methods of agricultural production that will make future agricultural companies and producers more competitive globally,” said Smith.
The Peak Ridge AgTech Fund’s team is the result of numerous key, local relationships with the most successful participants in the agricultural industry. Through this collaboration in the Midwest Agriculture arena, including representatives from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau, UW-Madison’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives and Badger AgVest. The Peak Ridge team determined that working toge the r with the se agricultural industry leaders provided an immense opportunity to assist in the commercialization and expansion of agricultural solutions that can ensure the region’s position as a global leader in agriculture and clean technology.
Upon deciding to move forward with the AgTech Fund, Peak Ridge Capital brought toge the r a wide range of industry experts to serve on the fund’s Board of Advisors. Members of the Board include Dr. Molly Jahn, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at UW-Madison; Dept. of Biochemistry, UW-Madison Steenbock Research Professor, Dr. Hector F. DeLuca; Bill Bruins , President of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau; Bill Oemichen, President of the Wisconsin and Minnesota Federation of Cooperatives; and Richard Pavelski, President of Heartland Farms.
The superior expertise of the AgTech Fund’s Board, combined with Peak Ridge’s proven track record in private equity, results in a fund with substantial potential to make a positive impact on the region’s agricultural climate, and likely resulting in global implications and benefits.
Dr. Jahn immediately saw the vast potential for agriculture-related investment in Wisconsin and throughout the Midwest . “This is a tremendous time of change and opportunity for Wisconsin and its agricultural industries,” Jahn said. “I firmly believe our most promising path forward involves increased partnership between public-sector research and development and industry. As Dean of one of the premier land-grant Ag and life sciences colleges in the world, I see the fruits of agricultural innovation every day, and I have a deep commitment to helping to identify and connect the se emerging opportunities with the resources required to deliver the ir full promise,” Jahn continued.
Bill Bruins , President of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau, agrees with Dr. Jahn, but sees the benefits from a slightly different angle. “I see no better time than the present to invest in the future of Wisconsin agriculture. The recent court decision reaffirming the Right to Farm law, combined with the strong commodity prices producers have experienced lately, provide the perfect time for the agriculture community to reinvest in its future,” Bruins said. “The [Peak Ridge] AgTech Fund will help Wisconsin ’s agricultural companies and farmers stay at the forefront of production and directly benefit producers and processors by investing in companies that increase yield and decrease operating costs,” he continued.
Innovation is an essential component of all industries, including agriculture. “It is widely accepted that companies and industry sectors that focus on innovation tend to have the highest investment returns and revenue growth,” said Smith. “Agriculture is an industry with an annual economic output of nearly $60 billion in Wisconsin alone, and investing in this industry’s innovation is key to sustaining the region’s position as a global leader in agriculture,” Smith explained.
Bill Oemichen, President & CEO of the Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives and Minnesota Association of Cooperatives, agreed to serve as an advisor to Peak Ridge’s AgTech Fund, and commented that “ the Fund will provide a new and unique opportunity to grow agriculture in the Upper Midwest by providing needed equity investment in emerging agriculture technologies and companies. The Upper Midwest is one of the principal agricultural regions of not only the United States, but of the entire world, and Peak Ridge offers this opportunity to not only maintain our vitally important leadership role in agriculture, but to also enhance the economic health of our region for the future benefit of all our citizens.”
Peak Ridge Capital Group is a Boston-based alternative asset management firm active in hedge funds, real estate and private equity. Peak Ridge maintains offices in Boston , Madison , Canada and Bermuda . “Our firm’s international reach adds significant value to our work in the Midwestern United States, and, as a lifelong Wisconsin resident, I am committed to continuing to position this region as a leader in agricultural innovation through our AgTech Fund,” said Smith.
“We have already received substantial commitments from numerous financial institutions and high net worth individuals. We’re thrilled that our investor base expands beyond Wisconsin’s borders and beyond the agricultural industry as a broad spectrum of knowledgeable investors have seen the growth potential in our AgTech Fund,” Smith stated. Peak Ridge Capital’s receipt of sufficient investment has allowed it to establish the AgTech Fund and begin operations in October 2008. The AgTech Fund will, on a discretionary basis, reserve the right to accept additional investments in the fund until the fund’s final closing in early 2009.
