WisdomTree to Acquire Farmland Firm Ceres Partners in $500M Deal
WisdomTree, a global asset manager with approximately $128.5 billion in assets under management, has announced plans to acquire Ceres Partners, a specialist investment firm focused on U.S. farmland and adjacent real asset verticals. The transaction—valued at up to $500 million—is designed to give WisdomTree a first-mover advantage in the $3.5 trillion U.S. farmland market, while creating new strategic opportunities in solar power, water rights, and AI data infrastructure tied to agricultural assets.
The deal will bring approximately $1.85 billion in farmland assets under management to WisdomTree across a portfolio of 545 properties spanning 12 U.S. states, with a focus on the Midwest. Founded in 2007, Ceres has built a performance-driven platform, delivering a 10.3% net average annual return.
“Farmland is one of the largest yet most underpenetrated real asset classes in the U.S., offering both scale and scarcity,” said Jonathan Steinberg, WisdomTree’s Founder and CEO. “This acquisition expands our leadership in innovative, income-generating investment solutions, while strategically accelerating our entry into private markets with a high-quality, scalable platform.”
Ceres Partners Founder and CEO Perry Vieth emphasized the firm’s strategic fit with WisdomTree’s ambitions: “For nearly two decades, we’ve built a differentiated farmland investment platform rooted in performance, operational expertise, and a deep understanding of U.S. agricultural markets. This partnership is the next evolution in that journey.”
The agreement includes an upfront $275 million cash payment at closing, with an additional $225 million in potential earn-outs payable in 2030, contingent upon compound annual revenue growth of 12% to 22% over a five-year period. The earn-out structure aligns with the firms’ long-term vision to scale both base and performance-fee revenues. Officials project that by 2030, the partnership could raise more than $750 million in new farmland assets, with the potential to double base fee revenue and generate 1.5x to 2x performance fee revenue, assuming historical return trends persist.
The acquisition represents WisdomTree’s most significant move yet into private markets, signaling its intent to diversify away from its ETF-dominated platform into scalable, income-producing real asset strategies.
Goodwin Procter LLP is serving as legal counsel to WisdomTree, while Berkshire Global Advisors and Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP are advising Ceres Partners. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, pending regulatory and customary approvals.