(Provides sukuk arranger, traders)
(Provides sukuk arranger, traders)
By Yousef Saba
DUBAI, March 15 (Reuters) – UAE agriculture know-how
start-up Pure Harvest Good Farms has raised $50 million through
sukuk, or Islamic bonds, the primary time an early-stage firm
within the area has secured enterprise capital by means of debt on the
market, its chief govt stated on Monday.
It additionally raised $10 million in fairness capital in January,
founder and CEO Sky Kurtz informed Reuters.
The mixed $60 million capital will likely be used to construct two
“high-tech hybrid greenhouses” within the United Arab Emirates to
produce tomatoes, at present the agency’s important product, and leafy
greens in year-round heat and sunshine.
The financing can even permit the corporate to retrofit an
current facility for berry manufacturing within the UAE and construct a
tomato manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia in partnership with
the Nationwide Agricultural Improvement Firm (NADEC) ,
20% owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Funding Fund.
Pure Harvest’s total manufacturing will likely be round 75 metric
tonnes per week by June, up from between 10 and 14 tonnes now,
Kurtz stated.
The $50 million three-year sukuk difficulty has a coupon of 8%,
with 7% payment-in-kind at maturity. It additionally has embedded
warrants that traders can train, topic to sure occasions,
to take fairness within the firm.
The issuance was organized by Shuaa Capital and anchored by
investments from Franklin Templeton and Sancta Capital.
“It is a firm that’s by far essentially the most superior agtech
participant within the area,” stated Ahmad Alanani of Sancta Capital,
including it has mental property that’s “very defensible”.
The corporate goals ultimately to export its produce, however Kurtz
stated it had a “lengthy solution to go” earlier than it covers imports within the
Gulf, the place round 80-90% of contemporary produce is at present
imported.
Pure Harvest is planning to return to capital markets in
lower than three months with an instrument to finish a 39
million euro ($47 million) multi-crop undertaking in Kuwait.
The corporate has raised whole commitments of $216 million, of
which $151.5 million is in varied types of debt and the remainder is
fairness, together with incentives from the Abu Dhabi Funding
Workplace (ADIO), which Kurtz stated had been “substantial”, with out
specifying.
Pure Harvest expects to enter markets exterior the area
subsequent 12 months or in 2023 and is in discussions to construct initiatives in
Southeast Asia in partnership with a rich particular person from the
Philippines, Kurtz stated.
(Reporting by Yousef Saba; Enhancing by Kevin Liffey and Jan
Harvey)
(([email protected]; +971562166204; https://twitter.com/YousefSaba))
Key phrases: EMIRATES INVESTMENT/FARMING (UPDATE 1)
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