REG - Agronomics Limited - Meatable completes EUR35M Series B Financing Round

AgronomicsAnnouncement

08/08/2023 09:15

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RNS Number : 6413I  Agronomics Limited  08 August 2023

8 August 2023

Agronomics Limited

("Agronomics" or the "Company")

Meatable Announces Successful €35 Million Series B Financing Round

Agronomics (ANIC:LSE), the leading listed company focused on the field of
cellular agriculture, is pleased to announce it has invested €4 million (the
"Subscription") as part of Meatable's €35 million Series B financing round.
The funding round was co-led alongside New Agrarian Company Limited ("New
Agrarian").

Agronomics first invested €2 million in Meatable B.V. ("Meatable") in
December 2019
(https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/agronomics/news/rns/story/x8q4lpx) ,
followed by an additional €1 million in June 2020
(https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/agronomics/news/rns/story/rnge82x) ,
€2 million in February 2021
(https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/agronomics/news/rns/story/x490l0w) and
€195k via a secondary transaction in May 2021
(https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/agronomics/news/rns/story/rg7l0jr) .
Subject to audit, Agronomics' investments, inclusive of the Subscription, will
be carried at €14.2 million, including an unrealised gain of €5.0 million
and represents a gross IRR of 22.31%. Agronomics now holds an equity stake of
6.7% in Meatable, with the position accounting for approximately 9% of
Agronomics' 30 June 2023 Net Asset Value
(https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/agronomics/news/rns/story/x2ejdzx) (as
adjusted for this investment).

The successful funding round was led by Agronomics and New Agrarian and saw
the Dutch impact fund, Invest-NL, join as a new investor, contributing $17
million, alongside renewed support from existing investors, including
BlueYard, Bridford, MilkyWay, DSM Venturing and Taavet Hinrikus (chairman and
founder of Wise).

The funding will be used to further scale Meatable's production processes and
accelerate its commercial programme in target markets to deliver cultivated
meat products that are price competitive with traditional meat. Starting in
Singapore, Meatable's sausages and pork dumpling products will be available in
selected restaurants and retailers from 2024. It is also establishing a
presence in the United States and target European countries. These steps
ensure Meatable can bring to life its mission to make cultivated meat
available for everyone, without compromising on taste or harming animals,
people or the planet.

Innovative technology to produce cultivated meat at scale

Consumer demand for meat continues to grow across the world, but this comes at
a huge cost to the planet. Cultivated meat is part of the solution - a study
by independent research company CE Delft found that cultivated meat can reduce
the footprint of conventional beef by up to 92% for greenhouse gas emissions
and 95% for land use. Investors have poured
(https://gfi.org/resource/cultivated-meat-eggs-and-dairy-state-of-the-industry-report/)
nearly US$ 900 million
(https://gfi.org/resource/cultivated-meat-eggs-and-dairy-state-of-the-industry-report/)
into the sector in 2022 alone, with the Netherlands announcing the
(https://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/news/dutch-government-invests-record-%E2%82%AC60m-to-boost-cellular-meat-agriculture.html)
world's largest ever-public investment
(https://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/news/dutch-government-invests-record-%E2%82%AC60m-to-boost-cellular-meat-agriculture.html)
into cellular agriculture last year.

To make its cultivated pork, Meatable takes one sample of cells from an animal
without harming it and replicates the natural growth process of the cells
using its patented opti-ox™ technology combined with pluripotent stem cells.
This technology makes it possible for Meatable to produce real muscle and
(https://meatable.com/eight-days/) fat cells in only eight days
(https://meatable.com/eight-days/) , 30 times faster than the time it takes to
rear a pig for pork on the farm. Meatable has all processes in place to be
able to scale cultivated meat production affordably and provide a genuine
solution to this global, pressing problem.

Taking its revolutionary cultivated meat process global

To truly make an impact, cultivated meat needs to be widely available. To
address this demand, Meatable is launching its first commercial products in
Singapore starting in 2024, and is currently partnering with the relevant
authorities to secure regulatory approval. Meatable has already successfully
held its first external tasting events
(https://meatable.com/meatable-first-tasting/) in Singapore earlier in 2023,
following approval from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). In addition, it has
started production of its products on the ground together with Esco Aster
(https://meatable.com/meatable-announces-partnership-esco-aster-singapore/)
Pye Ltd, the first and only commercially licensed cultivated meat manufacturer
in Singapore, and has begun co-development of its product range with
plant-based butcher Love Handle
(https://meatable.com/meatable-and-love-handle/) SC.

Meatable is also working to expand its operations into the United States and
across Europe. Recent regulatory developments have boosted confidence in the
industry, with the USA approving two cultivated meat companies to start
selling their products. Meanwhile, the Netherlands recently became the first
European country to officially give the green light for companies to organise
tastings.

Jim Mellon, co-founder of Agronomics, said:

"Meatable is one of the leading companies helping to transform the cultivated
meat industry. With 80 billion animals slaughtered every year for meat and
vast amounts of the Amazon rainforest already destroyed because of animal
agriculture, there is a real need to find a solution that can provide meat at
the scale needed to address a growing mass market. The latest funding round
will allow Meatable to scale up production in Singapore, and soon in the US,
as it moves towards commercialisation as part of its Go-to-Market strategy."

Krijn de Nood, co-founder and CEO of Meatable, said:

"We are thrilled to have the renewed support of our existing investors,
including Agronomics, while welcoming Invest-NL as a new investor. This is a
huge sign of confidence in the incredible quality, taste, and proven
scalability of our product, especially in the current investment climate. When
14% of the world's global emissions comes from the traditional meat industry,
it is clear there needs to be an alternative to reduce the harm our diets are
currently causing the planet. We believe cultivated meat is the answer and we
are confident we have the tools and the processes in place to make this a
reality. We look forward to working closely with our investors as we enter our
next growth phase and cement our position as global leaders."

Since this Subscription is considered a Substantial Transaction under AIM Rule
12, this announcement requires certain disclosures under Schedule Four.
Meatable is an early-stage company with no revenues with operating costs of
approximately €1.6 million per month, and total assets as at 31 December
2022 of €23 million, including cash or near cash of €20 million with no
material liabilities.

New Agrarian, the affiliate of Agronomics, has invested €6 million, on
identical terms to Agronomics for 2.86%. In aggregate, Agronomics and New
Agrarian will own 9.63% of Meatable on a fully diluted basis and have the
right to a board seat following the close of the financing round.

About Meatable

Meatable (https://www.meatable.com/) is an innovative, Dutch food company,
aiming to deliver, at scale, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHrorhYqcKg) the
new natural (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHrorhYqcKg) , cultivated meat
that looks like, tastes like, and has the nutritional profile of traditional
meat. Its proprietary opti-ox™ technology [is designed to enable] Meatable
to produce meat rapidly, sustainably, and without harming animals. Founded in
2018 by Krijn de Nood (CEO), Daan Luining (CTO), and Dr. Mark Kotter
(principal inventor of opti-ox™ technology), Meatable has brought together a
team of close to 100 experts with unique knowledge in fields including
molecular biology, chemistry, tissue engineering, bioprocess development, food
safety, and food science to create the new natural meat. Follow
(https://www.meatable.com/) Meatable (https://www.meatable.com/) :
(https://www.linkedin.com/company/itsmeatable/) LinkedIn
(https://www.linkedin.com/company/itsmeatable/) ,
(https://twitter.com/itsmeatable) Twitter (https://twitter.com/itsmeatable) ,
(https://www.instagram.com/itsmeatable/) Instagram
(https://www.instagram.com/itsmeatable/) ,
(https://www.facebook.com/meetMeatable/) Facebook
(https://www.facebook.com/meetMeatable/) .

About Agronomics

Agronomics (https://agronomics.im/) is the leading listed venture capital firm
with a focus on cellular agriculture. The Company has established a portfolio
of over 20 companies at the Pre-Seed to Series C 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.

About Invest-NL

Invest-NL (https://www.invest-nl.nl/) serves as the Dutch National Promotional
Institution. As a leading impact investor, its core mission is to facilitate
financing for ventures that may initially seem challenging to fund. By working
in collaboration with diverse stakeholders, including financiers, investors,
and development specialists from both the public and private sectors,
Invest-NL actively tackles significant societal challenges. These encompass
the transition towards a carbon-neutral and circular economy, promoting
affordable and accessible healthcare, and fostering advancements in deep tech
innovations.

 

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 Genuity Limited        Cenkos                Peterhouse Capital    SEC Newgate

 Limited                                          Cornish Limited                                        Securities Plc        Limited
 The Company                                      Nomad                 Joint Broker                     Joint Broker          Joint Broker          Public Relations
 Richard Reed                                     Roland Cornish        Andrew Potts                     Giles Balleny         Lucy Williams         Bob Huxford

 Denham Eke                                       James Biddle          Harry Rees                       Michael Johnson       Charles Goodfellow    George Esmond

                                                                        Alex Aylen (Head of Equities)                                                Anthony Hughes

                                                                                                                                                     Alice Cho
 +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)

 

 

 

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