REG - Agronomics Limited - Liberation Labs Closes US$ 50.5 million Fundraise

AgronomicsAnnouncement

30/01/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 1949V  Agronomics Limited  30 January 2025

 

Agronomics Limited

30 January 2025

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

("Agronomics" or the "Company")

Liberation Labs Closes US$ 50.5 million Fundraise

Agronomics (LSE: ANIC), a leading listed company in the field of clean food,
is delighted to announce that its portfolio company, Liberation Labs Holdings
Inc ("Liberation Labs") has closed a convertible note with US$ 31.5 million in
new capital which, combined with $19 million of insider bridge notes raised
during 2024, brings the total raised under its US$ 75 million convertible note
round to US$ 50.5 million. The round included additional participation from
NEOM Investment Fund alongside Siddhi Capital and Meach Cove Capital.
Agronomics has committed US$ 7.4 million to the round from its own funds.
Together with other secured funds, the new capital will enable the completion
of construction of the company's first biomanufacturing plant in Richmond,
Indiana.

Combined with other public sector awards and loan guarantees, Liberation Labs
has raised a total of US$ 125.5 million in deployable capital.

Liberation Labs aims to establish itself as the global fabrication partner for
the industrial biotechnology sector through the design, construction and
operation of Bio(3), its purpose-built biomanufacturing platform. This
platform will seek to address the critical bottleneck in capacity which
fermentation companies are currently facing. Liberation Labs broke ground on
its first facility in June 2023 which, when complete, will have 600,000 litres
of fermentation capacity. The project continues to make significant progress
with its build programme and expects to have the facility complete by the end
of this calendar year.

This site, located in Richmond, Indiana, was selected having considered a
number of key metrics such as access to sugar inputs, utility rates, cost and
availability of labour, regulatory environment, and availability of government
incentives. Additionally, the site has the potential to be expanded by an
additional 4 million litres of capacity in the future. Since the last update,
several large companies have signed Letters of Intent ("LOI") for the capacity
which at this stage, are non-binding. In total, Liberation Labs has LOIs
representing over 200% of the available capacity for the first 5 years of the
Richmond facility's operations.

Last year, Liberation Labs was also awarded a US$ 25 million "Business and
Industry" loan guarantee by the US Department of Agriculture to help with the
completion of the biomanufacturing facility.

Agronomics continues to have high conviction in the management team, business
model and investment opportunity. Given the shortage of fit-for-purpose
biomanufacturing capacity, along with the clear demand for diversified and
secure supply chains from governments and large corporations committing
long-term contracts, Liberation Labs expects to breakeven in the first year of
operation.

The total investment made by Agronomics in Liberation Labs is US$ 25.03
million (c. £20.05 million), with a carrying value of £31.2 million, subject
to audit. The position represents approximately 19.6% of Agronomics' last
published Net Asset Value as at 30 September 2024. The current round took
place in the form of a Convertible Loan Note, which will convert into equity
upon the close of the next equity financing. Agronomics continues to own 37.7%
of the undiluted equity in Liberation Labs. Agronomics participated alongside
related parties Galloway Limited, a company wholly owned by Executive Chair
Jim Mellon, which invested US$ 5.0 million; and New Agrarian Company Limited,
which invested US$ 2.1 million.

Since the US$ 7.4 million subscription from Agronomics is considered a
Substantial Transaction under AIM Rule 12, this announcement requires certain
disclosures under Schedule Four. Liberation Labs is an early-stage company
with no revenues and operating costs of approximately US$ 0.4 million per
month, and total assets as at 30 June 2024 of approximately US$ 49.5 million
and liabilities of US$ 43.8 million.

Jim Mellon, Executive Chair of Agronomics, said:

"Liberation Labs is developing state-of-the-art fermentation infrastructure to
transform the world's existing fermentation capacity. This will help build a
future where precision fermentation proteins reach the industrial scale needed
to meet growing demand in the US and across the world. This novel approach has
never previously been attempted. The completion of this significant funding
raise showcases the consistent and growing demand from startups, large
multinational corporations, and governments alike and is testament to the
strength of the team led by Mark Warner and their successful execution of the
strategy."

About Liberation Labs

Liberation Labs is commercializing precision fermentation, intending to
develop a global network of purpose-built manufacturing facilities that enable
the next wave of biotechnology advancements to produce bio-based consumer
products at scale. They 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/) .

About Agronomics

Agronomics is a leading London-listed company focussing on investment
opportunities within the field of clean food. 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 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 and
improve food security for the world's expanding population. A full list of
Agronomics' portfolio companies is available at https://agronomics.im/
(https://agronomics.im/) .

 

 Agronomics Limited                               Beaumont Cornish Limited  Canaccord Genuity Limited        Cavendish Capital Markets Limited  Peterhouse Capital Limited  SEC Newgate
 The Company                                      Nomad                     Joint Broker                     Joint Broker                       Joint Broker                Public Relations
 Jim Mellon                                       Roland Cornish            Andrew Potts                     Giles Balleny                      Lucy Williams               Bob Huxford

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

                                                                            Alex Aylen (Head of Equities)
 +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 (mailto:info@agronomics.im)

 

Nominated Adviser

Beaumont Cornish Limited ("Beaumont Cornish") is the Company's Nominated
Adviser and is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Beaumont Cornish's
responsibilities as the Company's Nominated Adviser, including a
responsibility to advise and guide the Company on its responsibilities under
the AIM Rules for Companies and AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, are owed
solely to the London Stock Exchange. Beaumont Cornish is not acting for and
will not be responsible to any other persons for providing protections
afforded to customers of Beaumont Cornish nor for advising them in relation to
the proposed arrangements described in this announcement or any matter
referred to in it.

END

 

 

 

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