By Mario Marroquin
Nearly a year after inking a $120 million financing
arrangement with real estate developer Decennial Group, organic produce firm
Soli Organic has raised a $125 million in series D financing. The indoor farming
company announced this week that a consortium led by Caisse
de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)
that included Movendo Capital, and repeat investors S2G Ventures, Cascade Asset
Management Company and XPV Water Partners, committed funds to the company,
which aims to erect and operate 15 indoor farms across the U.S.
“Vertical farms like Soli Organic’s are a fresh approach to
grow food in a sustainable way,” said CDPQ’s Geneviève Bouthillier, the managing
director of private mid-market companies. “This investment is in line with the
mission of CDPQ’s Climate Innovation Fund, which aims to support initiatives
that provide innovative solutions to the challenges posed by climate change,
alongside like-minded investors such as existing partner S2G Ventures.”
Horizon Technology and Bridge Bank also provided debt financing
to Soli.
The commitment in Soli Organic is the second investment in
food technology by the Canadian pension fund manager via its Climate Innovation
Fund. In March 2021, the fund manager – and S2G Ventures – participated in a
Series D funding round for Benson Hill, which raised $150 million. ESG Today
reported at the time that CDPQ and S2G Ventures aimed to deploy up to $125
million through 2023 in ventures that made the food and agriculture sector more
sustainable and climate friendly.
CDPQ and S2G Ventures are also investors in agricultural tech firm Sentera. The investors provided $25 million to the tech firm in June 2021 as part of a series C round of fundraising.
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