CPPIB to acquire farmland portfolio in Saskatchewan: Reuters

(Reuters) – The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board said on Thursday it has agreed to acquire the assets of Assiniboia Farmland, a fund that owns and manages a large portfolio of farmland in Saskatchewan, for about $128 million.

CPPIB said Assiniboia’s diversified portfolio consists of about 115,000 acres of farmland that produce a variety of crops, including wheat, barley and canola.

Sovereign wealth funds and large pension funds like Canada’s CPPIB, seeking long-life revenue generating assets, are making a number of big bets in physical assets like farmland and forests, along with investments in ports, hydro-electric power projects and other such assets.

Last year, CPPIB launched its agriculture investment program which will initially focus on farmland opportunities in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil.

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