TIDMANIC
RNS Number : 8666T
Agronomics Limited
30 March 2021
30(th) March 2021
Agronomics Limited
("Agronomics" or the "Company")
Investee Company Update: LIVEKINDLY Collective $335 Million
Series B Fundraise
Agronomics, the leading listed alternative proteins company with
a focus on cellular agriculture and cultivated meat, is pleased to
announce portfolio company LIVEKINDLY Collective ("LIVEKINDLY") has
closed a US$ 335 million funding round, inclusive of the US$ 135
million convertible loan note raised and announced in October
2020.
Agronomics invested US$ 3 million in February 2020 and subject
to audit, will now carry this position in its accounts at a book
value of US$ 5.55 million. This represents a gain on cost of US$
2.55 million and an IRR of 73%.
The full announcement is set out below with no material changes
or adjustments:
LIVEKINDLY Collective Raises $335 Million to Accelerate Adoption
of Plant-Based Living and Sustainability in the Global Food
System
Funding Round Led by The Rise Fund and Joined by Rabo Corporate
Investments, S2G Ventures, Existing and Additional Mission-Aligned
Investors
Investment Brings Total Funding to More Than $535 Million in
First 12 Months, Making LIVEKINDLY Collective One of the Top Three
Highest-Funded and Fastest-Growing Plant-Based Food Companies
March 29, 2021
NEW YORK - LIVEKINDLY Collective, a collection of heritage and
start-up brands on track to become one of the world's largest
plant-based food companies, today announced a successful capital
raise led by The Rise Fund, the global impact investing platform
managed by TPG. This round was joined by Rabo Corporate
Investments, the investment arm of Rabobank, investing again in
this round, S2G Ventures, and other existing and additional
mission-aligned investors.
This investment closes a growth funding round of $335 million,
including $135 million converted from a prior round, bringing the
total funds raised by LIVEKINDLY Collective in its first year to
$535 million. With this latest investment, LIVEKINDLY Collective
has become one of the top three highest-funded and fastest-growing
plant-based food companies globally.
"Our mission is to make plant-based living the new norm,
creating a healthier, more sustainable global food system through
our international portfolio that meets local tastes," said David
Knopf, CFO of LIVEKINDLY Collective. "With the close of this
funding round, we are ideally positioned to rapidly scale our model
and lead the global consumer shift toward healthy, delicious and
sustainable plant-based alternatives."
The funding will be used to accelerate LIVEKINDLY Collective's
expansion into growth geographies, like the U.S. and China, and
fuel its acquisitions, key partnerships and investments in
plant-based innovation.
"We are building a global pureplay in plant-based alternatives -
which we believe is the future of food," said Roger Lienhard,
Founder and Executive Chairman of Blue Horizon Group and Founder of
LIVEKINDLY Collective. "In just one year, we have raised a
significant amount of capital, which testifies to the urgency of
our mission and the enormous investment opportunity it represents.
We believe the momentum behind plant-based living will continue to
grow in both the private and public markets."
The Rise Fund works with growth-stage, high-potential,
mission-driven companies seeking to generate meaningful returns
while advancing progress towards achieving the UN Sustainable
Development Goals. This investment in LIVEKINDLY Collective is The
Rise Fund's second major investment in the global plantbased
ecosystem. Steve Ellis, Co-Managing Partner of The Rise Fund, has
joined the LIVEKINDLY Collective Board of Directors, effective
March 1, 2021.
"We are excited to work with LIVEKINDLY Collective and its
ecosystem of innovative companies and world-class leaders to meet
the growing global demand for healthy, plant-based, clean-label
options," said Ellis. "The company's unique, mission-driven model
operates across the entire value chain, from seed to fork, to drive
worldwide adoption of plant-based alternatives and create a
healthier planet for all."
LIVEKINDLY Collective has five companies under its umbrella and
470 employees around the world. In addition to Ellis, the company
has recently seated six new directors, Suzy Amis Cameron, Barbara
Kux, Shujun Li, Paul Polman, Walter Robb and Gaby Sulzberger.
About LIVEKINDLY Collective
LIVEKINDLY Collective was founded by Blue Horizon Group on the
belief that plant-based alternatives have the power to make the
global food system sustainable. Its mission is to make plant-based
living the new norm. As a collective of founders, entrepreneurs and
business leaders from across the globe, LIVEKINDLY Collective is
uniquely positioned to create impact with speed, at scale. Through
its portfolio of brands, Oumph!, The Fry Family Food Co., LikeMeat
and No Meat, LIVEKINDLY Collective is providing consumers around
the world with healthy, sustainable, delicious food options.
Furthermore, the company is the voice of the plant-based movement,
communicating informative, entertaining and inspiring content
through its media and lifestyle platform, LIVEKINDLY, at
www.livekindly.com and @livekindlyco on Instagram. LIVEKINDLY
Collective has 470 employees and sells in more than 40 countries
around the world. To learn more, visit www.thelivekindlyco.com.
About The Rise Fund
The Rise Fund is the world's largest global impact platform
committed to achieving measurable, positive social and
environmental outcomes alongside competitive financial returns.
With more than $5 billion in assets under management across its
platform, The Rise Fund works with growth-stage, high potential,
mission-driven companies that have the power to change the world.
Headquartered in San Francisco, The Rise Fund was founded in 2016
by TPG in partnership with Bono and Jeff Skoll and offers deep
expertise in business solutions to help achieve the United Nations'
Sustainable Development Goals. As part of TPG, The Rise Fund offers
investment resources, business-building skills, rigorous
measurement and a global network to help portfolio companies
accelerate growth and impact. With the ability to invest across a
wide variety of sectors and countries at scale, The Rise Fund
focuses on opportunities in education, energy, food and
agriculture, financial technology, healthcare and technology. For
more information, visit www.therisefund.com or @therisefund on
Instagram.
Contact Marta Tomczak media@livekindly.com
About Agronomics
Agronomics is a leading listed alternative proteins company with
a focus on cellular agriculture and cultivated meat. The Company
has established a portfolio of 16 companies at the Seed to Series B
stage in this rapidly advancing sector. It seeks to secure a 5-10%
initial ownership in technologies with defensible intellectual
property that offer new ways of producing food and materials with a
focus on products historically derived from animals. These
technologies are driving a major disruption in agriculture,
offering solutions to improve sustainability, as well as addressing
human health, animal welfare and environmental damage. This
disruption will decouple supply chains from the environment and
animals, as well as being fundamental to feeding the world's
expanding population. A full list of Agronomics' portfolio
companies is available at https://agronomics.im/ .
About the Cultivated Meat Sector
Funding in the cultivated meat sector is growing rapidly with c
US$ 170 million invested globally between 2016-2019 and over US$
270 million raised in 2020 alone. Additional financings are
anticipated as the capital requirements of these companies grows to
build out and scale up manufacturing facilities. Currently it is
estimated that there are 60 companies globally within the sector.
AT Kearney, a global consultancy, has predicted that Cultivated
Meat's market share of meat consumption will be 35% by 2040.
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
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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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