Blue Naln raises US$33.5m in Series B priced round

Agronomics Limited

09 October 2023

 

Agronomics Limited

("Agronomics" or the "Company")

Investee Company Update: BlueNalu Secures US$ 33.5 Million in Series B priced round

Agronomics, a leading listed company focused on the field of cellular agriculture, is pleased to announce that portfolio company BlueNalu, Inc. ("BlueNalu") has raised US$ 33.5 million from new and existing investors in a Series B Financing (the "Series B").

The financing will enable the next stage of BlueNalu's growth and its continued progress towards scaling and commericializing healthy and sustainable seafood in the U.S. and around the world. BlueNalu plans to launch its first commercial product, premium bluefin tuna toro, following regulatory approval.

Agronomics has invested, in aggregate, US$ 8 million across BlueNalu's Seed and Series A Financings and a pre-Series B Convertible Promissory Note ("CPN").  Following the close of the Series B, the CPN has been converted into Series B Preferred Shares. Agronomics now holds an equity stake in BlueNalu of 5.12% on a fully diluted basis.  Subject to audit, Agronomics will now carry this position forward at a book value of £13.3m, an IRR of 26.85% and a MOIC of 2x.

The holding in BlueNalu will represent approximately 8% of the last published Net Asset Value of the Company (30.06.23), including estimated post-balance sheet date adjustments.

About Agronomics

Agronomics 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 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 $1.8 trillion investment will be required in order to produce just 10% of the world's protein using this technology, means that we are on the cusp of a multi-decade flow of capital to build out manufacturing facilities. Funding in the field of cellular agriculture is accelerating, however, less than US$ 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	Cavendish Securities Plc	Peterhouse Capital Limited	SEC Newgate
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 Michael Johnson	Lucy Williams Charles Goodfellow	Bob Huxford George Esmond Anthony Hughes Alice Cho
[phone] [e-mail]	[phone]	[phone]	[phone]	[phone]	[e-mail]

 

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