Caisse part of group investing $150M in Quebec-based agri-food company

The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is part of a group investing $150 million in Quebec-based agri-food company Sollio Cooperative Group.

The other investors include Rabobank Capital, a co-operative bank in the Netherlands, as well as two Quebec-based investment funds, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Fondaction.

“Sollio Cooperative Group plays a leading role in our agri-food sector,” said Marc Cormier, executive vice-president and head of fixed income at the Caisse, in a press release. “Its business model is built around companies that meet essential needs and have a clear economic impact on the whole of Quebec.”

The investment will go toward improving and modernizing production and product offerings, according to the release. “We’re at the tail end of a period of major growth and this investment will help accelerate our optimization process by facilitating digitization and innovation,” said Gaétan Desroches, chief executive officer of Sollio. “[It will also] maintain our leadership in agri-food and retail in Quebec and Canada and mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on our growth plans.”