Portfolio Company Update: Liberation Labs

RNS Number : 3571L

Agronomics Limited

30 December 2022

 

Agronomics Limited

("Agronomics" or the "Company")

Portfolio Company Liberation Labs Announces Final Close of Seed Financing

Agronomics (ANIC:LSE), the leading listed company focused on the field of cellular agriculture, is pleased to announce that Liberation Labs Holdings Inc ("Liberation Labs"), the large-scale precision fermentation contract manufacturer, has completed the final close of its Seed financing as most recently announced by the Company on 5 December 2022. Liberation Labs will use the proceeds to purchase and begin development of the site where it will build its first commercial-scale 600,000L launch facility.

The Company holds a total of 4,700,000 ordinary shares and 2,134,147 Seed Preferred shares, in Liberation Labs, with an equity ownership of 37.4% on a fully diluted basis. The aggregate investment will account for approximately 11.3% of the last published Net Asset Value of Agronomics (30.09.22) (as adjusted for the uplift on the Liberation Labs position).

The full announcement is set out below without any material changes.

Liberation Labs Announces Final Close of $20 Million in Seed Financing

Capital will be used to build out a 600,000 liter production facility in the U.S. to meet surging demand for novel proteins from both traditional and food-tech companies

NEW YORK (December 30, 2022) Liberation Labs, the developer of a precision fermentation platform for the production of alternative proteins at scale, has closed a $20 million seed round of funding. The round was led by Agronomics and Siddhi Capital and includes CPT Capital, Thia Ventures, 8090 Industries and Echo. Funds will be used for, among other things, the purchase and development of a site on which to build its first commercial-scale Launch Facility, which will have a fermentation capacity of 600,000 liters with a fully dedicated downstream process (DSP).

"Liberation Labs aims to dramatically increase availability of precision fermentation capacity to meet the rising demand for alternative proteins, fueled by population growth and increasingly health-conscious, impact-driven consumers," said Mark Warner, co-founder and CEO of Liberation Labs. "Our business model enables us to not only meet the demand from today's traditional food companies but unlock innovation among the dozens of emerging food-tech companies."

Liberation Labs is commercializing precision fermentation with a global network of purpose built, international manufacturing facilities that enable the next wave of biotechnology advancements to produce alternative protein at scale.

"Liberation Labs has the potential to dramatically accelerate adoption of novel proteins that are increasingly in demand by both existing and next-gen food companies responding to changing consumer preferences," said Jim Mellon, co-founder and executive director at Agronomics. "We believe they  will set a new standard in the industry and usher in a new era of innovation in healthy, sustainable and scalable foods."

With the close of the seed round, the company's focus is turned completely to finalizing the site selection process and the completion of Front End Loading level 3 engineering (FEL-3), followed by placing orders for long-lead equipment and building out the operations team. Liberation Labs is projecting commissioning and commercial production of its first facility by the end of 2024.

"We're confident in the experience and talent of the senior executive team at Liberation Labs to deliver on a novel approach to precision fermentation," said Steven Finn, co-founder and co-managing partner of Siddhi Capital. "We believe they can make a significant contribution to making the global food system more sustainable and scaleable."

About Liberation Labs

Liberation Labs is commercializing precision fermentation with a global network of purpose built, international manufacturing facilities that enable the next wave of biotechnology advancements to produce alternative protein at scale. Our cutting-edge process combining modern technology and design brings reliable, fit-for-purpose approach and cost-effective solutions that meet consumer demand across the world.

Founded by industry pioneers with a combined 50 years of experience, Liberation Labs is powering a new, innovative way forward that sets the standard for the precision fermentation food industry to make a lasting impact on achieving food security for the world's growing population. More information is available at http://www.liberationlabs.com/

Media Contact

John Williams, Scoville PR for Liberation Labs

[phone], [e-mail]

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 over 20 companies 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 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 Limited	Beaumont Cornish Limited	Canaccord Genuity Limited	Cenkos Securities Plc	Peterhouse Capital Limited	TB Cardew
The Company	Nomad	Joint Broker	Joint Broker	Joint Broker	Public Relations
Richard Reed Denham Eke	Roland Cornish James Biddle	Andrew Potts Harry Rees Alex Aylen  (Head of Equities)	Giles Balleny Max Gould Michael Johnson	Lucy Williams Charles Goodfellow	Ed Orlebar Alistair Walker
[phone] [e-mail]	[phone]	[phone]	[phone]	[phone]	[phone] [phone] [e-mail]

 

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