TIDMANIC
RNS Number : 2639Q
Agronomics Limited
25 February 2021
25(th) February 2021
Agronomics Limited
("Agronomics" or the "Company")
Announces Further Investment in Portfolio Company VitroLabs
Agronomics, the leading London-listed investor in alternative
proteins with a focus on cellular agriculture and cultivated meat,
is pleased to announce it has today invested a further US$ 500,000
(the "Subscription") in VitroLabs Inc ("VitroLabs"), a cellular
agriculture company creating slaughter-free, environmentally
friendly cultivated leather.
VitroLabs has made substantial technical and commercial progress
over the past year, reaching significant milestones around
production cost reduction, consistent leather quality, increased
platform production capacity and process efficiency, as well as
securing key partnerships.
The Subscription is in the form of a convertible loan note
("CLN"), which will convert at VitroLabs' next funding round.
Agronomics had previously invested US$ 2,500,000 in total in the
form of two SAFEs ("Simple Agreement for Future Equity"): the first
in October 2019 and the second in February 2020. The approximate
equity ownership upon conversion ("Conversion Event") at the
valuation cap of the CLN and the SAFEs for Agronomics will be
approximately 5.25 per cent. The Subscription will be paid using
cash from the Company's own resources. This follow-on investment
does not result in a change of the carrying value of the Company's
existing investments in VitroLabs.
Commenting on the investment, Richard Reed, Chairman of
Agronomics, noted:
"We are glad to continue to support Ingvar and his team as
VitroLabs moves from being research and development centric,
towards commercialisation.
Just as consumers are paying more attention to the environmental
footprint of their food consumption, the same goes for fashion. The
major global fashion houses are acutely aware of this shift, but
until now have had no credible alternatives that perform at the
level required to replace conventionally farmed leather."
Ingvar Helgason, Co-founder and CEO of VitroLabs, added:
"At VitroLabs, our mission is to produce authentic materials
without compromise. By harnessing science and nature, our
cultivated leather has the same performance and versatility as
traditional leather, but dramatically reduces the environmental
footprint and eliminates animal welfare issues associated with
conventional leather production.
We are thrilled to have the continued support of Agronomics as
we scale our operations and move toward our common goal of
improving animal, human and planetary health through sustainable
solutions."
The CLN is unsecured and for a term of 2 years with an interest
rate of 6 per cent per annum. The CLN converts at the lower of a
valuation cap of US$ 75m or a 10% discount to the next financing
and into the same class of shares issued at the Conversion Event,
which is anticipated to be VitroLabs' Series A financing.
About Agronomics
Agronomics is a leading listed investor in alternative proteins
with a focus on cellular agriculture and cultivated meat. The
Company has established a portfolio of 16 companies at the Seed to
Series B stage in this rapidly advancing sector. It seeks to secure
a 5-10% initial ownership in technologies with defensible
intellectual property that offer new ways of producing food and
materials with a focus on products historically derived from
animals. These technologies are driving a major disruption in
agriculture, offering solutions to improve sustainability, as well
as addressing human health, animal welfare and environmental
damage. This disruption will decouple supply chains from the
environment and animals, as well as being fundamental to feeding
the world's expanding population. A full list of Agronomics'
portfolio companies is available at https://agronomics.im/ .
About VitroLabs
VitroLabs is a clean cellular agriculture company creating
slaughter-free, environmentally friendly cultivated leather in the
world's first fully scalable tissue-engineering platform. The
technology, inspired by nature, works at the intersection of
biology, material science, design, and engineering to bring
transformational change to the leather industry and beyond, for the
good of people, animals, and the planet.
Since this Subscription is considered a Substantial Transaction
under AIM Rule 12, this announcement requires certain disclosures
under Schedule Four. VitroLabs is an early-stage pre revenue
company with operating costs of approximately US$ 300,000 per
month, and total assets as at 31st December 2020 of US$ 657,000
including cash or near cash of US$ 510,000 with no material
liabilities.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under
the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR'). Upon the
publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information
Service ('RIS'), this inside information is now considered to be in
the public domain.
For further information please contact:
Agronomics Beaumont Cenkos Peterhouse TB Cardew
Limited Cornish Limited Securities Capital
Plc Limited
The Company Nomad Joint Broker Joint Broker Public Relations
------------------ --------------- --------------------- ------------------------
Richard Reed Roland Cornish Giles Balleny Lucy Williams Ed Orlebar
Denham Eke James Biddle Nick Searle Charles Goodfellow Joe McGregor
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+44 (0) 20 7930
0777
+44 (0) 1624 +44 (0) 7738
639396 +44 (0) 207 +44 (0) 207 +44 (0) 207 724 630
info@agronomics.im 628 3396 397 8900 469 0936 agronomics@tbcardew.com
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