Romanian farming company raises EUR 5 mln from local investors

Holde Agri Invest, a Romanian agricultural company operating farmland, has raised EUR 5 million from several local investors and investment funds in its first round of financing, the company announced.

The money raised will be used to expand the farming land operated by the company, purchase farming equipment and for the development of the team.

Among the investors who participated in the first round of financing are several local business people, including Alexandru Leonard Leca, Dan Manolescu, Daniela Nemoianu, Cristian Pop, Angelica Rapotan, Cristian Scafa, local investment funds Vertical Seven Group and Certinvest, as well as companies such as Safe Adventure, controlled by the Badiu family.

Currently, Holde Agri Invest has a 2,800-hectare farm in the vicinity of Rosiorii de Vede village, in Teleorman county, which cultivates mainly ecological crops.

“Our mission is to create a locally financed state-of-the-art farm, which can operate at a scale guaranteeing optimal exploitation of land and assets while ensuring significant cost saving and access to the latest innovations. We believe that the Romanian agricultural sector has immense potential. We are confident through technology, proper organization and motivated people, we can truly add value, transform the local rural landscape while generating attractive returns to investors”, Liviu Zagan, CEO of Holde Agri Invest, said.

Under Holde’s organizational structure, farms are organized under a holding company, Holde Agri Invest, which is in turn administered by a specialized management company.

The company is looking to expand in the south and south-east part of Romania, to extend the operated farmland.

By the end of 2020, Holde Agri Invest aims to triple its acreage, reaching at least 8,000 hectares in farmable land. The company expects that the expansion will cost an estimated EUR 10 million. The sum was already partially raised during first round of financing.

The company is currently preparing for the second round of financing, which will be followed by floating of Holde’s shares on the AeRO market of the Bucharest Stock Exchange, it announced.

Holde Agri Invest was established in 2018 by Romanian entrepreneurs Liviu Zagan, Robert Maxim, Matei Georgescu and Alexandru Covrig together with local asset management company Certinvest. Soon after it received the first external investment from Vertical Severn Group, a fund established by Romanian entrepreneurs Iulian Cîrciumaru and Andrei Cretu. After the closing of the Series A, Holde Agri Invest has 25 shareholders. Vertical Seven Group remains the biggest shareholder, with a 25% of stake, while the remaining investors have holdings between 9% and 0.1% in the business. The business model envisages that no single shareholder holds a majority stake in the company.