TIDMANIC
Agronomics Limited
30 December 2022
Agronomics Limited
("Agronomics" or the "Company")
Portfolio Company Liberation Labs Announces Final Close of Seed
Financing
Agronomics (ANIC:LSE), the leading listed company focused on the
field of cellular agriculture, is pleased to announce that
Liberation Labs Holdings Inc ("Liberation Labs"), the large-scale
precision fermentation contract manufacturer, has completed the
final close of its Seed financing as most recently announced by the
Company on 5 December 2022. Liberation Labs will use the proceeds
to purchase and begin development of the site where it will build
its first commercial-scale 600,000L launch facility.
The Company holds a total of 4,700,000 ordinary shares and
2,134,147 Seed Preferred shares, in Liberation Labs, with an equity
ownership of 37.4% on a fully diluted basis. The aggregate
investment will account for approximately 11.3% of the last
published Net Asset Value of Agronomics (30.09.22) (as adjusted for
the uplift on the Liberation Labs position).
The full announcement is set out below without any material
changes.
Liberation Labs Announces Final Close of $20 Million in Seed
Financing
Capital will be used to build out a 600,000 liter production
facility in the U.S. to meet surging demand for novel proteins from
both traditional and food-tech companies
NEW YORK (December 30, 2022) Liberation Labs, the developer of a
precision fermentation platform for the production of alternative
proteins at scale, has closed a $20 million seed round of funding.
The round was led by Agronomics and Siddhi Capital and includes CPT
Capital, Thia Ventures, 8090 Industries and Echo. Funds will be
used for, among other things, the purchase and development of a
site on which to build its first commercial-scale Launch Facility,
which will have a fermentation capacity of 600,000 liters with a
fully dedicated downstream process (DSP).
"Liberation Labs aims to dramatically increase availability of
precision fermentation capacity to meet the rising demand for
alternative proteins, fueled by population growth and increasingly
health-conscious, impact-driven consumers," said Mark Warner,
co-founder and CEO of Liberation Labs. "Our business model enables
us to not only meet the demand from today's traditional food
companies but unlock innovation among the dozens of emerging
food-tech companies."
Liberation Labs is commercializing precision fermentation with a
global network of purpose built, international manufacturing
facilities that enable the next wave of biotechnology advancements
to produce alternative protein at scale.
"Liberation Labs has the potential to dramatically accelerate
adoption of novel proteins that are increasingly in demand by both
existing and next-gen food companies responding to changing
consumer preferences," said Jim Mellon, co-founder and executive
director at Agronomics. "We believe they will set a new standard in
the industry and usher in a new era of innovation in healthy,
sustainable and scalable foods."
With the close of the seed round, the company's focus is turned
completely to finalizing the site selection process and the
completion of Front End Loading level 3 engineering (FEL-3),
followed by placing orders for long-lead equipment and building out
the operations team. Liberation Labs is projecting commissioning
and commercial production of its first facility by the end of
2024.
"We're confident in the experience and talent of the senior
executive team at Liberation Labs to deliver on a novel approach to
precision fermentation," said Steven Finn, co-founder and
co-managing partner of Siddhi Capital. "We believe they can make a
significant contribution to making the global food system more
sustainable and scaleable."
About Liberation Labs
Liberation Labs is commercializing precision fermentation with a
global network of purpose built, international manufacturing
facilities that enable the next wave of biotechnology advancements
to produce alternative protein at scale. Our cutting-edge process
combining modern technology and design brings reliable,
fit-for-purpose approach and cost-effective solutions that meet
consumer demand across the world.
Founded by industry pioneers with a combined 50 years of
experience, Liberation Labs is powering a new, innovative way
forward that sets the standard for the precision fermentation food
industry to make a lasting impact on achieving food security for
the world's growing population. More information is available at
http://www.liberationlabs.com/
Media Contact
John Williams, Scoville PR for Liberation Labs
+1-206-660-5503, jwilliams@scovillepr.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 over 20 companies in this rapidly
advancing sector. It seeks to secure minority stakes in companies
owning 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 Cellular Agriculture
Cellular Agriculture is the production of agriculture products
directly from cells, as opposed to raising an animal for slaughter,
or growing crops. This encompasses cell culture to produce
cultivated meat and materials, and fermentation processes that
harness a combination of molecular biology, synthetic biology,
tissue engineering and biotechnology to massively simplify
production methods in a sustainable manner.
Over the coming decades, the source of the world's food supply
traditionally derived from conventional agriculture is going to
change dramatically. We have already witnessed the first wave of
this shift with the consumer adoption of plant-based alternative
proteins but today, we are on the cusp of an even bigger wave of
change. This is being facilitated by advances in cellular
agriculture. This change is necessary, given scientists claims that
if we maintain existing animal protein consumption patterns, then
we will not meet the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting warming to
1.5 .
AT Kearney, a global consultancy firm, projects that cultivated
meat's market share will reach 35% by 2040. This combined with the
Good Food Institute's estimate that a US $1.8 trillion investment
will be required in order to produce just 10% of the world's
protein using this technology, means that we are on the cusp of a
multi-decade flow of capital to build out manufacturing facilities.
Funding in the field of cellular agriculture is accelerating,
however still less than US$ 5 billion has been invested worldwide
since the industry's inception in 2016.
For further information please contact:
Agronomics Beaumont Canaccord Cenkos Peterhouse
Limited Cornish Genuity Limited Securities Capital TB Cardew
Limited Plc Limited
The Company Nomad Joint Broker Joint Broker Joint Broker Public Relations
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Richard Roland Cornish Andrew Potts Giles Balleny Lucy Williams Ed Orlebar
Reed James Biddle Harry Rees Max Gould Charles Alistair Walker
Denham Eke Alex Aylen Michael Goodfellow
(Head of Johnson
Equities)
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7930 0777
+44 (0) +44 (0) +44 (0) +44 (0) +44 (0) 7738
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info@agronomics.im 3396 523 8000 8900 0936 agronomics@tbcardew.com
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