REG - Agronomics Limited - Shellbay Appoints New Chief Executive Officer

AgronomicsAnnouncement

27/09/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 8975F  Agronomics Limited  27 September 2024

27 September 2024

Agronomics Limited

("Agronomics" or the "Company")

Shellbay Appoints New Chief Executive Officer and Change of Director's
Shareholding

The Board of Agronomics announces that Shellbay Investments Limited
("Shellbay"), the adviser to the Company providing portfolio management and
investment services, has appointed Dr Philip Boigner as its interim Chief
Executive Officer with immediate effect.

The appointment of Dr Boigner follows a strategic review by Mr James Mellon,
the non-executive chair of Agronomics, and indirectly the sole owner of
Shellbay.

Mr Anthony Chow, the former Chief Executive Officer, has left Shellbay with
immediate effect. Mr Chow, however, will be available to Shellbay, Dr Boigner
and the Company, to ensure an orderly handover or responsibilities, and
continued good relations with the Company's portfolio investee companies.

Dr Boigner serves as Director at New Agrarian Company Limited, an active
investor in cell agriculture and fermentation technologies (and an affiliate
of Agronomics, having a number of portfolio companies in common, also advised
by Shellbay). In addition, he has managed capital for sovereign wealth funds
and investment companies with a combined AUM in excess of many US$ billions.
He has global experience and a successful track record of executing venture
capital, private equity, and fund investments. Dr Boigner has a diverse skill
set ranging from private markets and alternative assets to innovation,
ecosystem building and company turn-arounds.

Shellbay is a related party of the Company, as Mr Jim Mellon is indirectly the
sole owner of Shellbay and Mr Denham Eke is the sole director of Shellbay. Mr
Mellon and Mr Eke are directors of Agronomics.

Commenting on the appointment of Dr Boigner, Mr Mellon noted :

"Philip is a first class executive, with years of experience identifying and
realising value from great companies and technologies. I have worked with him
for a number of years at New Agrarian Company and I have great confidence that
he will provide the necessary skills to bring success to Shellbay, and in
particular the Agronomics portfolio. The share price remains extremely
disappointing notwithstanding general poor market conditions and sentiment,
and the discount to the Company's net asset value is unacceptable. I would
like to thank Anthony Chow for his work building the portfolio, but between
Philip and I, supported by the rest of the Board, we will ensure investors
understand the great value opportunity that exists currently, the enormous
strides that have been made by companies in the portfolio recently, and the
great potential of these technologies."

Change in Director's Shareholding

Separately, following a review of Jim Mellon's shareholding, the Company has
identified an error which resulted in an understatement of those shares held
by Galloway Limited. Jim Mellon's corrected interest is in a total of
156,106,552 Ordinary Shares, representing 15.46% of the total issued capital
of the Company which remains at 1,009,411,584 Ordinary shares with a nominal
value of £0.000001. Of this total, 151,410,944 Ordinary Shares are held by
Galloway Limited (not 147,591,813 as previously reported) and 2,313,647
Ordinary Shares are held by Shellbay, companies which are both indirectly
wholly owned by Jim Mellon, and 2,381,961 Ordinary Shares are held directly by
Mr Mellon. Denham Eke is a director of Galloway Limited and Shellbay
Investments Limited.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE MARKET
ABUSE REGULATION (EU No. 596/2014) AS IT FORMS PART OF UK DOMESTIC LAW BY
VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018. UPON THE PUBLICATION OF
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INSIDE
INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND SUCH PERSONS
SHALL THEREFORE CEASE TO BE IN POSSESSION OF INSIDE INFORMATION.

About Agronomics

Agronomics is a leading London-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 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/) .

For further information please contact:

 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)   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

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.

 

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