Investors looking for an eco-friendly play in the agribusiness have a new special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to add to their watchlist.
On Tuesday, October 24, Agriculture & Natural Solutions Acquisition registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker “ANSCU.”
The blank-check company plans to raise $300 million through the deal. It will offer 30 million units priced at $10 each, with each unit consisting of one Class A share and one-half of a warrant.
The ANSCU is on the hunt to acquire a company in the agriculture sector focused on decarbonization. Citigroup is acting as the underwriter for the offering.
Agriculture & Natural Solutions said it will have two years from the close of its public launch to complete an initial business combination.
ANSCU’s Chief Executive is Bert Glover, the founder and managing director of Impact Ag, one of the SPAC’s key sponsors. The prospectus claims Glover’s considerable investment experience, particularly in the agribusiness industry, will be of great value in his role as team leader.
ANSCU’s chief financial officer, Thomas Smith, serves as chief financial officer of fund accounting at Riverstone – another of the SPAC’s cornerstone private equity investors.
Riverstone’s founder, David Leuschen, is expected to serve as chairman of the ANSCU board following the completion of this (SPAC) IPO. Mr. Leuschen is the co-founder and senior managing director of Riverstone Holdings LLC. Prior to Riverstone, Mr. Leuschen was a partner and managing director at Goldman Sachs and founder and head of the Goldman Sachs Global Energy and Power Group.
Investors may note that “Agriculture & Natural Solutions Acquisition Corp.” is a successor SPAC to the earlier “Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corp. V,” which filed its S-1 in October 2021 but was declared abandoned by the SEC due to inactivity.
Bumper Harvest?
Once the takeover of the target is complete, ANSCU will focus on “developing and advancing a platform that decarbonizes the traditional agriculture sector and enhances natural capital at scale.”
“The agriculture sector is historically underinvested and will require substantial investment to capitalize on its potential to contribute to economy-wide decarbonization,” reads its prospectus. “Investment in the sector has primarily been directed toward increased production at the expense of Earth’s systems,” it goes on.
The need for the restoration of the Earth’s natural capital is urgent. According to a McKinsey report, agriculture is the largest contributor to the depletion of resources exceeding our planet’s natural boundaries, as currently understood.
Like many industries, agriculture is in need of a sustainable transformation. Feeding the globe’s rapidly growing population over the coming decades will mean consistently high demand for quality agriculture. So, although less new than exciting industries like tech or consumer goods, agriculture has generated strong yields for savvy investors recently.
Last year proved a bumper year for U.S. agriculture. Net farm income, a broad measure of profits, climbed 31% from 2021 levels to reach $183 billion. American farmland is also pumping. According to the NCREIF Farmland Index, the value of U.S. farmland owned by investors rose 10.2% in 2022, cooly outstripping the average inflation rate at 8%.
Investors interested in ANSCU will want to keep abreast of new updates regarding this unique SPAC opportunity.