June 20, 2017

Avrio Capital announced that its third agtech fund, Avrio Fund III, has closed on its sixth investment, which will add POS Bio-Sciences Inc. (POS) to the fund’s portfolio.

Founded in 1977 and headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, POS in an innovative bioprocessing company that creates value-added products and ingredients from biological raw materials, while also providing custom R&D services, custom processing, and analytical services to its clients which span six continents. Over the years, POS has collaborated closely with multi-nationals, entrepreneurs, and governments to develop innovative solutions for extracting complex proteins, oils, starches, and bioactive components from a range of different biomass feedstocks.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with POS in driving the transition from a predominantly research focused organization to a product-focused platform built on 40 years of expertise in processing and isolating compounds and molecules of interest from various biomass sources,” said Steven Leakos, managing director at Avrio.

Active for more than 15 years in the food and ag technology investment space, Avrio is one of the oldest existing venture capital franchises in Canada, having committed in excess of C$200 million across fifty agriculture and food technology companies in its portfolio, including Brookside, Wolf Trax Inc., Hortau, and Farmers Edge Inc.

Under its investment strategy, Avrio targets investments in food and agriculture companies that provide solutions to global challenges that are faced in regard to health, wellness, and sustainability. The firm sees its role as an active partner with its portfolio companies, offering the support and resources needed to transform a company into a globally competitive player.

“As we continue into the next phase of our development, we feel very fortunate to have attracted Avrio to assist in turning our overall business model towards a truly commercial enterprise.  We are excited to have added the Avrio representatives to our commercialization advisory committee to drive the transformation of our Company in an efficient and profitable manner,” said Dale Kelly, CEO of POS.

Third and Largest

Avrio announced the closing of its third and largest fund, the Avrio Fund III, at $110 million in February of last year.

The focus of the fund will remain within the food and agricultural tech investment space, continuing to build upon the success the firm has had completing deals that were selected as the Canadian Venture Capital Association’s Deal of the Year for their superior return on investment.

“The adoption of technology along the agricultural value chain is occurring at an unprecedented pace,” said Aki Georgacacos, co-founder and managing partner of Avrio in a company statement. “Food security, wellness, sustainability and the digitization of the farm are just a few of the macro themes creating a new class of ag-tech companies that are redefining the ways in which we feed the world.”

Within days of announcing the close of Avrio Fund III, it was also announced by the Alberta Enterprise Corporation that it had made its first capital placement since the Government of Alberta dedicated a new $50 million capital allocation in the autumn of 2015 – investing $5 million as a limited partner in the fund.

“Avrio has a history of investing in quality Alberta-based businesses,” said Kristina Williams, Alberta Enterprise CEO, in press release at the time.  “They are an active partner in building the VC industry locally and as such support the development of the provincial VC and technology sector – our main mandate at Alberta Enterprise.”

-Lynda Kiernan

Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.