Brazil’s Grão Direto Lands Series-A2 from Agribusiness Powerhouses Cargill, Louis Dreyfus Company, Archer Daniels Midland Company and Amaggi Agro.

The deal signals a major seal of approval for Grão Direto, the Brazilian marketplace that reinvented grain trading

Grão Direto, Brazil’s top and award winner grain marketplace, announced today the landing of a Series-A2 from strategic agribusiness powerhouses Cargill, Louis Dreyfus Company, Archer Daniels Midland Company and Amaggi Agro.

The round in which Grão Direto lands its Series-A2 represents a major seal of approval for the Brazilian digital marketplace by bringing yet more major international and local agribusiness powerhouses to its turf, as Grão Direto‘s Series A had the backing of Saint Louis-based Monsanto, currently Bayer, in 2018. Grão Direto has also been backed by investment funds Canary, Lanx Capital, Leaps by Bayer, OpenVc and Barn Investimentos.

Grão Direto was founded in 2016 with the purpose of digitizing the agricultural commodity chain, helping farmers and buyers to transact in a more efficient, safe, and electronic way, generating a high efficient integration for the entire market. In addition to supporting the marketing of agricultural goods, the company provides unique information on the grain market, in customized reports and news . Grão Diretor was founded by co-founders Alexandre Borges, Pedro Paiva e Frederico Marques.

About Grão Direto’s Closing of its Series-A2 Round

To scale the operation, Grão Direto raised about $8 million (BRL $40 million) in its third round of investments in a Series A-2 of investment. According to Alexandre Borges, the AgTech CEO, “[the startup] will bring other strategic partners in new rounds of investments. The idea is to have diversity with the entry of rural producers as well”. “More important than control is to maintain neutrality and independence”, concludes the CEO.

The conclusion of the transaction is contingent upon approval from Brazil’s CADE, the antitrust Agency of the country.

The Esquires and the Firms Behind the Deal

TozziniFreire Advogados acted as Brazilian legal counsel to the Investors with a team led by partners João Busin and Juliana Soares Zaindan Maluf with contribution from senior associate Cauê Jorge de Almeida.

The IFRL1000 and Legal 500 accredited partner João Busin is head of the Private Equity & Venture Capital practice group of TozziniFreire and together with Juliana Maluf are based in the São Paulo headquarters of the firm, and are regarded as renowned specialists in the M&A Venture Capital and emerging growth technology companies spaces.

The Latin America Chambers 2022 TozziniFreire is a full service law firm and one of the most traditional firms of Brazil with headquarters in São Paulo and offices in Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Campinas, Porto Alegre, Caxias do Sul and New York. 

Foley & Lardner LLP acted as U.S. legal counsel to the Investors. 

The author of What is Driving Increasing Investment in the AgTech Sector and Latin America’s Investment Boom and the Pitfalls of American Jurisdiction, Silicon Valley partner and Latin America specialist,  Andre Thiollier represented the Investors Cargill, Louis Dreyfus Company, ADM – Archer Daniels Midland Company and Amaggi Agro, and led the Foley’s legal deal team structuring the U.S. and international aspects of the transaction with contribution from corporate associate Cayman Weimer. 

In 2021 the firm made a major leap into the M&A Venture capital services from its Palo Alto and San Francisco offices, which has placed it as one of the top U.S. firms servicing Latin America, and specially Brazil, today.

The Am Law 50 Foley & Lardner is a US-based full service global law firm with over 26 offices around the globe. 

Bronstein Zilberberg Chueiri Potenza Advogados  acted as Brazilian legal counsel to Grão Direto.

Partner Eduardo Zilberberg led the Bronstein Zilberberg’s transaction team with the contribution of corporate associates Paula Bobrow and Paloma Batt. 

The Top Ranked Chambers Brazil 2022 Bronstein Zilberberg Chueiri Potenza Advogados is a full service law firm based in São Paulo, and it is highly recognized as one of the leading top-tier M&A Venture Capital law firms in Brazil.