News
CAPE Fund L.P. Announces $1 Million Follow-on Investment in One Earth Farms Corp.
MONTREAL, May 4, 2011 – CAPE Fund L.P. (“CAPE Fund” or the ”Fund”) announced today that on May 2, 2011, it completed a $1 million investment in common shares of One Earth Farms Corp. (“OEF” or the “Company”) as part of a two-tranche $39.5 million financing involving a broad mix of institutional and retail investors.
This financing followed on the heels of the recent purchase by Sprott Resources Corporation (SRC), the lead sponsor and majority shareholder of OEF, of an additional $30 million in common shares. The completion of this total financing fully funds One Earth Farms for 2011. One Earth Farms has already become the largest farming operation in Canada and is on track to become one of the largest farms in the world. This scale has enabled One Earth Farms to completely transform the traditional farming model. “In only two years, OEF has been able to lock in industry leading discounts on key crop inputs and equipment and has started developing equally strong relationships with food retailers, working towards the development of branded products, particularly in natural beef," said Kevin Bambrough, President and CEO of SRC.
One Earth Farms, working together with its First Nations’ and key strategic agricultural sector partners in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, intends to become Canada’s most efficient operating farm. Combining professional management and access to large tracts of world-class farmland will allow the company to achieve significant economies of scale and position it well to benefit from global trends impacting the demand and supply for agricultural commodities. A key consideration of CAPE Fund’s investment is One Earth Farms’ commitment to promote First Nations’ capacity building at managerial and operational levels within the organization over time. This includes initiation of job training programs and providing employment opportunities to help teach sustainable farming practices to future generations of First Nations persons. In addition to capacity building, the partnership is structured so as to provide real potential to generate economic wealth for all participating First Nations.
Peter Forton, CAPE Fund’s Managing Director and member of the Board of Directors of One Earth Farms, commented: “CAPE was an early investor in OEF, premised largely on its vision of building a ground breaking, world class corporate farm having the potential to generate meaningful social and financial returns for its shareholders, First Nations partners and broader stakeholder base. We have now moved substantially into the execution stage of this vision and we are pleased and excited to demonstrate our continued belief in it, and support of it, by providing our follow-on investment”, said Mr. Forton.
About CAPE Fund L.P.
CAPE Fund is a $50 million private-sector investment fund founded by the family of the Right Honourable Paul Martin and 21 of Canada’s leading companies, individuals and international Foundations whose visionary leadership has supported the creation of the Fund and its novel approach to encourage increased Aboriginal participation in Canada’s economy.
CAPE Fund is focused on mid-market opportunities with a strong degree of Aboriginal involvement and connection to Aboriginal communities throughout Canada. CAPE Fund's mission is to further a culture of economic independence, ownership, entrepreneurship, and enterprise management among Aboriginal peoples, on or off reserve through the creation and growth of successful businesses. For more information, including a complete list of disclosed investors, please visit www.capefund.ca.
For further information:
Peter Forton
Managing Director
Tel: (514) 982-3905
