RCS - Agronomics Limited - Portfolio Company Update: BlueNalu

AgronomicsAnnouncement

14/09/2021 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20210914:nRSN6386La&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 6386L  Agronomics Limited  14 September 2021

14 September 2021

 

Agronomics Limited (https://agronomics.im/)

("Agronomics" or the "Company")

 

Portfolio Company, BlueNalu, and Nomad Foods Collaborate to Introduce
Cell-Cultured Seafood in Europe

 

Agronomics, the leading listed company in alternative proteins, is pleased to
announce portfolio company BlueNalu, Inc. ("BlueNalu") has entered a
collaboration with Nomad Foods Limited ("Nomad Foods").

 

Agronomics currently holds both shares and a Convertible Promissory Note in
BlueNalu which would, in aggregate, represent an equity interest of circa
5.85% on a fully diluted basis and be valued, subject to audit, at
approximately £13.4 million (see announcement of 20 January 2021 for more
details on the basis of this calculation). The BlueNalu position represents
roughly 6.3% portfolio weighting to Net Asset Value.

 

The full announcement is set out below with no material changes or
adjustments:

 

FELTHAM, England & SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE
(https://www.businesswire.com/) )--Nomad Foods(1), Europe's leading frozen
food company and BlueNalu(2) a leading innovative food company developing a
variety of seafood products directly from fish cells, have agreed to explore
the introduction of cell-cultured seafood in Europe, where demand for
sustainably produced, healthy seafood products continues to grow. Europe is
the largest importer of seafood in the world due to high consumption rates,
with EU citizens consuming more than three times as much as they produce.(3)

 

The agreement represents the first of its kind in Europe between a consumer
packaged goods company and a cell-cultured seafood company, and underpins
Nomad Foods' commitment to sustainable growth through the development and
scaling of emerging food technologies. The agreement also signifies a mutual
interest in the commercialization of cell-cultured seafood in Europe to help
meet rising demand and support wider efforts to safeguard the long-term
availability of quality, affordable seafood that is healthy for people and
sustainable for the planet. It includes a collaboration to conduct market
research and identify consumer insights, assess regulatory requirements, and
explore new business and product opportunities that would be unlocked by the
introduction of cell-cultured seafood throughout Europe.

 

Stéfan Descheemaeker, Chief Executive Officer, Nomad Foods, said: "The food
industry is at a transformational moment as consumer demand for nutritious,
high-quality food is growing, the importance of sustainability has never been
more apparent, and the role of technology in delivering these needs is
accelerating.

 

"We are at the forefront of a generational shift towards healthier, more
sustainable eating and are delighted to announce our collaboration with
BlueNalu. Their breakthrough technology in cell-cultured seafood perfectly
aligns with our purpose and will enable us to continue to introduce innovative
and great tasting seafood products that are good for people, good for the
planet and accessible to all."

 

Lou Cooperhouse, President and Chief Executive Officer, BlueNalu, said: "As
the latest IPCC report(4) on the climate crisis demonstrates, the decisions we
make over the next decade will have a profound impact on life on this planet
for generations to come.

 

"We are excited by the opportunity to collaborate with Nomad Foods, which has
revered, market- leading brands such as Birds Eye, Findus and iglo, to
accelerate our market strategy in Europe. With this announcement, BlueNalu is
well-positioned to bring our leading-edge innovation into Europe in the coming
years, which complements our existing collaborations in Asia and North
America."

 

Notes to editors:

 

1          Europe includes the UK, which is Nomad Foods largest
market

2          BlueNalu's non-GMO technology platform is designed to
produce a wide array of seafood products from a variety of species in order to
meet consumer demand and supplement gaps in supply in each region where it
goes to market. BlueNalu has implemented a species selection strategy that
complements the current seafood supply chain, focusing on fish species that
are typically imported, difficult to farm-raise, are overfished or
non-sustainable, and/or contain higher levels of environmental contaminants.
Cell-cultured seafood has the potential to democratize sustainable, nutritious
seafood, minimize food waste, improve transparency, and support the
biodiversity in the ocean. BlueNalu's cell-cultured seafood products could
offer a healthy, regenerative, consistent, and predictable seafood solution
that is traceable, secure, and safe.

 

BlueNalu's business strategy is to partner with leading multinational
companies on market research, regulatory affairs, product design and
development, manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution, with an aim to
efficiently and effectively bring BlueNalu's branded cell-cultured seafood
products to consumers worldwide. This announcement with Nomad Foods follows
additional collaborations announced earlier by BlueNalu, including agreements
with Pulmuone Co, Ltd. in South Korea, Sumitomo Corporation and Mitsubishi
Corporation in Japan, and Thai Union in Thailand.

 

3          Source: EU Blue Economy Report 2021,
https://blueindicators.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2021_06_BlueEconomy_Report-2021.pdf
p35-40
(https://blueindicators.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2021_06_BlueEconomy_Report-2021.pdf%20p35-40)

 

4          UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR6
report summary
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf
(https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf)

 

About Nomad Foods

 

Nomad Foods (NYSE: NOMD) is Europe's leading frozen food company. The
Company's portfolio of iconic brands, which includes Birds Eye, Findus, iglo,
Aunt Bessie's and Goodfella's, have been a part of consumers' meals for
generations, standing for great tasting food that is convenient, high quality
and nutritious. Nomad Foods is headquartered in the United Kingdom. Additional
information may be found at www.nomadfoods.com
(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nomadfoods.com&esheet=52490644&newsitemid=20210913005501&lan=en-US&anchor=www.nomadfoods.com&index=3&md5=78a6cd97da9b6cb2fbf5509987efbb93)
.

 

About BlueNalu

 

BlueNalu's mission is to develop great-tasting, healthy, safe and trusted
cell-cultured seafood products that support the sustainability and diversity
of our ocean. BlueNalu is aligned with the United Nations' Sustainable
Development Goals, a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future
for our planet. The company began its operations in 2018 and is based in San
Diego, California. To learn more about BlueNalu, please visit www.BlueNalu.com
(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bluenalu.com%2F&esheet=52490644&newsitemid=20210913005501&lan=en-US&anchor=www.BlueNalu.com&index=4&md5=13df95e1800f9515366811aeaed94843)
.

 

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 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 the Cultivated Meat Sector

 

Funding in the cultivated meat sector is growing rapidly with approximately
US$ 170 million invested worldwide 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.

 

For further information please contact:

 

 Agronomics           Beaumont              Cenkos                Peterhouse Capital

 Limited              Cornish Limited       Securities Plc        Limited               TB Cardew
 The Company          Nomad                 Joint Broker          Joint Broker          Public Relations
 Richard Reed         Roland Cornish        Giles Balleny         Lucy Williams         Ed Orlebar

 Denham Eke           James Biddle          Michael Johnson       Charles Goodfellow    Joe McGregor
 +44 (0) 1624 639396  +44 (0) 207 628 3396  +44 (0) 207 397 8900  +44 (0) 207 469 0936  +44 (0) 20 7930 0777

 info@agronomics.im                                                                     +44 (0) 7738 724 630

                                                                                        agronomics@tbcardew.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

This information is provided by Reach, the non-regulatory press release distribution service of RNS, part of the London Stock Exchange. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

Reach is a non-regulatory news service. By using this service an issuer is confirming that the information contained within this announcement is of a non-regulatory nature. Reach announcements are identified with an orange label and the word “Reach” in the source column of the News Explorer pages of London Stock Exchange’s website so that they are distinguished from the RNS UK regulatory service. Other vendors subscribing for Reach press releases may use a different method to distinguish Reach announcements from UK regulatory news.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  NRADKNBPKBKBACD