Banks are showing increased interest in investments through the agriculture venture capital industry.
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, one of the country’s largest banks, has invested $300,000 in Agrivest Capital Corporation and will join the company’s board of directors.
The marriage is a result of discussions with a number of banks interested in involvement in agriculture through venture-capital, said Cam Crawford, chair of the Agrivest board of directors.
“They see the strength around our board table and they’re very supportive of our mandate to become a venture capital company in agriculture,” said Crawford, who put together a group of business associates to raise the initial $1.2 million for investment.
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Over the next two months, Agrivest will begin its second round of door knocking to raise $10 million for the next series of venture capital investments.
Big interest
Crawford said “major institutional money sources” from Toronto and New York have expressed interest in Agrivest.
“It’s fair to say if you’re going to raise $10 million it’ll come from some fairly big money sources,” said Crawford.
And the group won’t stop at $10 million.
“We’re looking to put significantly more capital together. We have near-term plans for $10 million capitalization and longer term plans for $40 to $50 million capitalization,” said Crawford.
“To get to those milestones, we’re going to need the support of major financial institutions and partners. We’re certainly looking at large blocks of capital placed with us.”
If the company succeeds in raising $10 million, it will start considering investment deals between $500,000 and $2 million.
Crawford expects to invest in five to 10 more companies within the next two years.
