Sustainable Foods & Agriculture
Sustainable food and agricultural solutions are necessary to reduce the strain on our planet and address consumer demands. In doing so, agtech and ESG considerations will shape the future of the food and agribusiness industries. Vinson & Elkins advises clients embracing technology and green energy to cut carbon emissions, minimize harmful waste and boost agricultural productivity and food systems to ensure an efficient and sustainable future for the agri-foods industry. Our lawyers are experienced in matters relating to food production, technology, agricultural products and renewable resources and leverage that experience to counsel our clients in addressing sustainability challenges. V&E has proven success in advising clients in the agtech and food industries in a myriad of transactions, financings and regulatory matters.
V&E provides counsel on investments, financings, joint ventures, securities offerings, project development, regulatory and environmental advice, shareholder activism, multi-district, class action, antitrust and intellectual property litigation and counseling, and technology licensing.
Experience Highlights
AGR Partners, an investment firm focused on providing capital to food and agribusiness companies, in its acquisition of REI Enterprises from the Glen A. Taylor Revocable Trust
Goldman Sachs in the $245 million acquisition of three Washington state tree fruit packing and farming operations
Riverstone Holdings, as co-lead investor, in connection with a $65.5 million Series D investment in Anuvia™ Plant Nutrients, a manufacturer of high-efficiency, sustainable field-ready fertilizers for the agriculture, turf, and lawncare industries
ARA Partners in a strategic investment in Divert, which offers technology-enabled resource recovery solutions for food retailers
Private sponsor in an investment in a maker of edible plant-derived coatings to reduce food spoilage
AGR Partners in its preferred equity investment in Shell Rock Soy Processing, a high-volume soybean crushing plant in Iowa
Fruit and nut producer in immigration violations imposed by the US Department of Labor
Publicly traded rice bran processing company in various agreements for the bulk supply of rice and grain and the wholesale distribution of rice bran products
Center for Science in the Public Interest and Chesapeake Institute for Local Sustainable Food & Agriculture d/b/a Healthy School Food Maryland in challenging a rollback of the USDA’s food nutrition standards to federal school meal programs
A private equity-backed fertilizer company in the proposed development and project financing of a fertilizer production facility, including the negotiation of offtake agreements for the sale of fertilizer products to industrial consumers and wholesale buyers
Continental Grain Company in multiple investments, including investment in a food products company and a commodities company (ongoing)
Marfrig Global Foods S.A., a multinational corporation in the global protein industry with headquarters in Brazil, in its $500 million offering of senior notes, its first sustainable bond issue
Green Plains Inc. in defense of the shareholder activism campaign of Ancora Advisors, LLC