Milbank Represents Mexican Social Venture Capital Firm in Investment in Chiapas Organic Farming Operation
NEW YORK, May 25, 2010 – The international law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP represented IGNIA Fund I, LP (“Ignia”), a social venture capital fund investing in Latin America, in its US$5 million investment in Chiapas Organic Holdings, Inc. (“Chiapas Farms”), a leading grower and exporter of organic produce based in Monterrey, Mexico. Ignia purchased preferred stock from Chiapas Farms as part of a US$6.5 million round of equity financing including a US$1.5 million investment from existing shareholders, and was granted certain corporate governance rights.
“Ignia and Chiapas Farm have a common mission to help empower undeserved and poor populations to foster entrepreneurship and self-sufficiency,” said Mike Fitzgerald, chairman of the Global Securities, Global Corporate and Latin America Practice Groups. “This investment will further this mission.” Milbank of counsel Frank Vivero and associate Stephen Rose worked with Mr. Fitzgerald on this transaction.
“Chiapas Farms seeks to establish itself as a direct link between the Mexican farmer and the US retailer,” says Michael Chu, co-founder and Managing Director of Ignia and Senior Lecturer of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. “The added value resulting from this increased efficiency will improve the quality of life of Mexican producers, while also allowing the Company to achieve the necessary scale to have a significant social and economic impact throughout Mexico."
About Ignia
Ignia is a social venture capital investment firm based in Monterrey, Mexico that anticipates investing approximately US$75 in Mexico and throughout Latin America. The fund aims to empower entrepreneurship among underserved, low-income populations by investing in high-growth social enterprises that both generate social impact for the base of the socio-economic pyramid and provide attractive financial results for its investors. Ignia invests in high-growth business sectors that have a disproportionate impact on improving the welfare of the underprivileged, such as healthcare, nutrition, housing, basic utilities and education.
About Chiapas Farms
Chiapas Farms, a grower and exporter of fruits and vegetables organized under Delaware law and headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico, with a focus on exporting organic produce supplied by small independent farmers in the state of Chiapas, one of the most impoverished rural regions of Mexico. The capital generated by the investment will allow Chiapas to expand its base of independent farmers, purchase land and build greenhouses with a view to becoming long-term strategic suppliers of organic produce to major US retailers.
About Milbank
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP is a leading international law firm which has been providing innovative legal solutions to clients throughout the world for more than 140 years. Milbank is headquartered in New York and has offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, DC.
The Firm’s lawyers provide a full range of legal services to the world’s leading commercial, financial and industrial enterprises, as well as to institutions, individuals and governments. Milbank’s lawyers meet the needs of our clients by offering a highly integrated and collaborative range of services across key practice groups throughout our global network. Milbank’s integrated practice is underpinned by our attorneys’ acknowledged technical excellence, sectoral expertise and a strong tradition of innovation and client service.