Homestead Capital (Homestead), a private equity firm investing in farmland in the United States, has held a final close of its third fund, Homestead Capital USA Farmland Fund III, with USD596 million in capital commitments. With these additional commitments, the firm has surpassed USD1 billion in AUM across its three funds.
“We are grateful for the support and opportunity to invest on behalf of our broad range of returning and new investors,” says Dan Little, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Homestead. “We are humbled by our limited partners’ confidence in us as investors. Fund III represents an endorsement of our ability to drive positive investment outcomes and act as long-term stewards of our limited partners’ capital.”
“The United States farmland market continues to undergo a transition that presents many attractive investment opportunities,” said Gabe Santos, also a Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Homestead. “Our strategy is uniquely suited to create value by utilising our local networks and expertise to source farms and improve them, all the while preserving their long-term health through our sustainable farm management practices.”
Consistent with Homestead Capital USA Farmland Fund II, Fund III will focus exclusively on investment opportunities across row and permanent crops in the Mountain West, Pacific, Midwest and Delta regions.
“We have been laser-focused on building a world-class team and organisation that is best positioned to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns on our farmland investments. While our core team has grown since Homestead’s founding in 2012, our commitment to disciplined, value-add investing underpinned by local presence has not changed,” adds Santos. “We’re excited by the increasing recognition of the crucial role that farmland plays in a diversified portfolio, particularly in a macro environment characterised by low yields, high volatility and a renewed focus on environmental sustainability,” Little concluded.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP represented Homestead as fund counsel.