Feronia Inc. Closes Second Tranche of Strategic Investment from Phatisa's African Agriculture Fund

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - March 21, 2013) - Feronia Inc. (TSX VENTURE:FRN) ("Feronia" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed the second tranche of its previously announced financing led by the African Agriculture Fund ("AAF") managed by Phatisa Fund Managers Limited ("Phatisa"). All amounts in this release are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.

AAF, through its subsidiary Golden Oil Holdings Limited, acquired 58,800,774 common shares in the Company in the second tranche at a purchase price of $0.12 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $7,056,093. The Company has also received subscriptions from a number of existing qualifying shareholders for an additional 20,281,455 common shares in the Company at a purchase price of $0.12 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $2,433,774. The Company has received $1,035,522 of such additional subscriptions and expects to receive the remaining subscription funds in the coming days.

The gross proceeds of the financing, including the gross proceeds from the first tranche completed on January 14, 2013 and assuming receipt of the remaining subscription funds referenced above is approximately $14,533,227.

Following completion of the financing, the Company will have a total of 290,612,429 common shares issued and outstanding of which AAF will indirectly hold 100,828,774, representing approximately 34.7% of the Company. The common shares issued pursuant to the financing are subject to a statutory hold period which expires four months from the applicable closing date.

The AAF is a leading pan-African agriculture and food private equity fund that is managed by Phatisa, an Africa-based private equity investment management firm. The AAF includes among its limited partner investors a number of European development finance institutions ("DFIs") such as the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), and Promotion et Participation pour la Coopération Économique (Proparco); a number of African DFIs such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), the West African Development Bank (BOAD) and the ECOWAS Bank of Investment and Development (EBID); and other private European and USA investors.

The Company's management and Board of Directors believe that the strategic investment from AAF positions the Company well from a working capital perspective in the short-term, and to access non-dilutive forms of growth funding from other sources in the medium and long-term.

Commenting, Ravi Sood, Chairman of Feronia said: "We are very pleased to close the second tranche of this financing with the African Agriculture Fund and the other participating investors and wish to thank our shareholders for their continued support."

About Feronia Inc.

Feronia Inc. is a large-scale commercial farmland and plantation operator in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ("DRC"). The Company uses modern agricultural practices to operate and develop its oil palm plantations and arable farming business division. Feronia believes in the immense agricultural potential of the DRC for high-quality foodstuffs and edible oils given its ideal climate, excellent soil and highly skilled and experienced workforce. Feronia's management team is comprised of senior agriculturalists with extensive experience in managing both plantations and large-scale mechanized farming operations in emerging markets. Feronia is committed to sustainable agriculture, environmental protection and providing support for local communities. For more information please see, www.feronia.com.

Cautionary Notes

Except for statements of historical fact contained herein, the information in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities law. Such forward-looking information may be identified by words such as "anticipates", "plans", "proposes", "estimates", "intends", "expects", "believes", "may", "will" and include without limitation, statements regarding the receipt of additional subscription funds, the Company's working capital position, the Company's ability to access non-dilutive funding and the benefits to the Company of the investment by AAF. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ materially from such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others, the inability to obtain the additional subscription funds on terms acceptable to the Company or at all, regulatory risks, risks inherent in foreign operations, commodity prices, competition, and investments having no history of operations. Most of these factors are outside the control of the Company. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities statutes or regulation, the Company expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.