REG - Agronomics Limited - Agronomics Invests US$10m in Liberation Labs

AgronomicsAnnouncement

05/04/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 4016J  Agronomics Limited  05 April 2024

5th April 2024

 Agronomics Limited

("Agronomics" or the "Company")

Agronomics Invests US$ 10 million in Liberation Labs

 

Agronomics (LSE: ANIC), a leading listed company focused on the field of
cellular agriculture, is pleased to announce that it has invested US$ 10
million in its portfolio company Liberation Labs Holding Inc. ("Liberation
Labs") as part of a wider US$ 12.5 million financing round with participation
from existing investor Siddhi Capital. The investment was made in the form of
a Secured Convertible Promissory Note ("SCPN"), a form of convertible debt,
for the continued construction of its facility in Richmond, Indiana in advance
of Liberation Labs' Series A round (a "Qualified Financing"). The SCPN will
convert into the same instrument and terms as the Qualified Financing which is
anticipated to raise a minimum of US$ 37.5 million through a combination of
debt and equity. The investment was made using cash from the Company's own
resources.

 

Including this SCPN, Liberation Labs has now raised US$ 33.5 million in
equity-linked instruments and has formal commitments for non-dilutive funding
totalling a further US$ 55 million. This includes US$ 30 million in equipment
financing and a US$ 25 million loan from Ameris Bank which is backed by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture via the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan
Program.

 

Liberation Labs is seeking to become the industrial biotechnology industry's
global fabrication partner through the design, build and operation of Bio(3),
its purpose-built biomanufacturing platform. This platform will address the
critical bottleneck which fermentation companies face.  Liberation Labs broke
ground in June 2023 on its first facility which when complete will have 600k
litres of fermentation capacity. Today, the project is approximately halfway
through its build programme and, subject to completion of the Qualified
Financing, is expected to be commissioned in Q1 2025.  This site, located in
Richmond, Indiana which has the potential to be expanded by an additional 4
million litres of capacity was selected considering several key metrics such
as access to sugar inputs, utility rates, cost and availability of labour,
regulatory environment, availability of government incentives.

 

Including the SCPN, Agronomics has invested US$ 17.6 million in Liberation
Labs which, subject to audit, is currently carried at a book value of £25.7
million. This position represents approximately 14.8% of Agronomics' last
stated Net Asset Value, including post-balance sheet date adjustments.
Agronomics now holds 37.5% of Liberation Labs on a fully diluted basis.

 

Mark Warner, CEO and Co-Founder of Liberation Labs said:

 

"The new funding from Agronomics and Siddhi Capital comes as we continue to
make significant progress in building out our operations team and advancing
facility construction - including the installation of key equipment like
fermenters and spray dryers. Each day we're closer to our goal of unlocking
the potential of domestic manufacturing of novel proteins for both food and
industrial use. We greatly appreciate the continued support of our major
funding partners."

 

Jim Mellon, Executive Chairman of Agronomics added:

 

"Liberation Labs continues to deliver on the project milestones of its launch
facility in Indiana.  We have huge confidence in the team's ability to
execute and believe that Liberation Labs will become the first company in
Agronomics' portfolio to be cash generative."

About Liberation Labs

Liberation Labs is commercializing precision fermentation with a global
network of purpose-built manufacturing facilities that enable the next wave of
biotechnology advancements to produce bio-based consumer products at scale. We
combine modern technology with fit-for-purpose design to bring reliable and
cost-effective solutions that meet customer demand across the world. More
information is available at (http://www.liberationlabs.com/)
www.liberationlabs.com (http://www.liberationlabs.com/) .

In the year to 31/12/23, Liberation Labs reported a loss of US$ 7.1 million
and as at 31/12/23 had net assets of US$ 12.7 million.

About Agronomics

Agronomics is a leading listed company focussing on investment opportunities
within the field of cellular agriculture. The Company has established a
portfolio of over 20 companies in this rapidly advancing sector. It seeks to
invest in companies owning technologies with defensible intellectual property
that offer new ways of producing food and ingredients 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, food security and animal welfare. A full list
of Agronomics' portfolio companies is available at https://agronomics.im/
(https://agronomics.im/) .

 

 

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 Agronomics           Beaumont              Canaccord Genuity Limited  Cavendish Capital Markets Limited  Peterhouse Capital    SEC Newgate

 Limited              Cornish Limited                                                                     Limited
 The Company          Nomad                 Joint Broker               Joint Broker                       Joint Broker          Public Relations
 Jim Mellon           Roland Cornish        Andrew Potts               Giles Balleny                      Lucy Williams         Bob Huxford

 Anthony Hughes
 Denham Eke           James Biddle          Harry Pardoe               Michael Johnson                    Charles Goodfellow

                                            Alex Aylen                 Charlie Combe
 +44 (0) 1624 639396  +44 (0) 207 628 3396  +44 (0) 207 523 8000       +44 (0) 207 397 8900               +44 (0) 207 469 0936  agronomics@secnewgate.co.uk

 info@agronomics.im

 

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