TIDMANIC
RNS Number : 9445R
Agronomics Limited
01 November 2023
1 November 2023
Agronomics Limited
("Agronomics" or the "Company")
NEOM Signs MoU with BlueNalu to Commercialise, Market and
Distribute BlueNalu's Cell-Cultured Seafood
Agronomics (ANIC:LSE), the leading listed company focused on the
field of cellular agriculture, is pleased to report that, following
the recently announced completion of portfolio company BlueNalu's
US$ 35.5 million Series B Financing Round, NEOM Investment Fund was
the lead investor with a US$ 20 million investment. BlueNalu have
reported that this investment marks the start of a strategic
partnership that aims to progress the commercialisation, marketing,
and distribution of BlueNalu's cell-cultured seafood products, and
reflects the mutual interests of both organisations in developing
solutions that increase food security and improve access to healthy
foods for communities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and
worldwide.
In aggregate, Agronomics has invested 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 GBP13.3 million,
representing an IRR of 26.85% and a MOIC of 2x.
The holding in BlueNalu will amount to approximately 8% of the
last published Net Asset Value of the Company (30.06.23), including
estimated post-balance sheet date adjustments.
NEOM's full announcement is set out below without any material
changes:
NEOM and BlueNalu Forge Strategic Partnership to Revolutionise
Sustainable and Secure Food Ecosystem
NEOM, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , 31 October 2023: NEOM, the
sustainable regional development taking shape in northwest Saudi
Arabia, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
BlueNalu, the global leader in the development of cell-cultured
seafood.
The partnership aims to progress the commercialisation,
marketing, and distribution of BlueNalu's cell-cultured seafood
products, and reflects the mutual interests of both organisations
in developing food solutions that increase food security and
improve access to healthy foods for communities in the Kingdom and
worldwide.
Core objectives of the MoU include supporting the establishment
of an incubation and food innovation ecosystem in the Kingdom;
public education and outreach activities; conducting extensive
consumer research; and engaging with regulatory agencies to enable
the approval and sale of these novel foods.
This partnership followed NEOM Investment Fund USD 20 million
investment in BlueNalu. The funding will enable the next stage of
BlueNalu's growth and its continued progress toward scaling and
commercialising healthy and sustainable seafood around the
globe.
Majid Mufti, Chief Executive Officer of NEOM Investment Fund,
commented: "Our investment in BlueNalu goes beyond mere financial
backing; it marks a pivotal moment in our commitment to fostering
sustainable regenerative aquaculture and resilient food ecosystems.
By aligning NEOM Food with BlueNalu's trailblazing approach, we're
not just envisioning a sustainable future-we're investing in the
transformative technologies that make it achievable. This is yet
another demonstration of how NEOM Investment Fund serves as a
cornerstone in actualizing NEOM's overarching vision."
Dr. Juan Carlos Motamayor, Executive Director of NEOM Food,
said: "NEOM is committed to building a resilient future, and our
partnership with BlueNalu aligns perfectly with our goals. In
BlueNalu, we have found the perfect nexus of visionary leadership,
groundbreaking technology, and a holistic approach to product
innovation. We look forward to working with them to shape a more
sustainable and resilient food ecosystem."
Cell-cultured seafood, real seafood produced directly from fish
cells, is poised to revolutionize the production and consumption of
these products around the globe. This emerging technology can
result in seafood with the same taste, texture, and nutritional
value as their conventional counterparts, but resulting in products
that are consistent, healthy, secure, and sustainable, thereby
fulfilling consumer preferences. Importantly, this production
method has the potential to significantly reduce the environmental
impact of protein production.
Lou Cooperhouse, Founder, President & Chief Executive
Officer of BlueNalu, said: "This collaboration with NEOM is a
monumental step towards creating a more secure and accessible
supply of seafood in the Kingdom. By combining our global expertise
in cell-cultured seafood and the tremendous number of strategic
partnerships we've developed to date at BlueNalu, together with
NEOM's extraordinary vision and resources, we can accelerate the
development of innovative, renewable food solutions via
cell-cultured seafood."
The partnership further strengthens NEOM's ongoing commitment to
harnessing innovation to nourish people and the planet and
guaranteeing food security for generations to come.
-end-
About NEOM
NEOM is an accelerator of human progress and a vision of what a
new future might look like. It is a region in northwest Saudi
Arabia on the Red Sea being built from the ground up as a living
laboratory - a place where entrepreneurship will chart the course
for this new future. It will be a destination and a home for people
who dream big and want to be part of building a new model for
exceptional livability, creating thriving businesses and
reinventing environmental conservation.
NEOM will include hyperconnected, cognitive cities, ports and
enterprise zones, research centers, sports and entertainment venues
and tourist destinations. As a hub for innovation, entrepreneurs,
business leaders and companies will come to research, incubate, and
commercialize new technologies and enterprises in groundbreaking
ways. Residents of NEOM will embody an international ethos and
embrace a culture of exploration, risk-taking and diversity.
For further information email media@NEOM.com or visit
www.NEOM.com and www.NEOM.com/en-us/newsroom .
For further information about BlueNalu please visit
www.BlueNalu.com .
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 $1.8 trillion investment
will be required to produce just 10% of the world's protein using
this technology, means that we are on the cusp of a multi-decade
flow of capital to build out manufacturing facilities. Funding in
the field of cellular agriculture is accelerating, however, still,
less than US$ 5 billion has been invested worldwide since the
industry's inception in 2016.
For further information please contact:
Agronomics Beaumont Canaccord Genuity Cenkos Peterhouse Capital SEC Newgate
Limited Cornish Limited Limited Securities Plc Limited
The Company Nomad Joint Broker Joint Broker Joint Broker Public Relations
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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 Anthony Hughes
Equities) Alice Cho
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+44 (0) 1624
639396
info@agronomics. agronomics@secnewgate.
im +44 (0) 207 628 3396 +44 (0) 207 523 8000 +44 (0) 207 397 8900 +44 (0) 207 469 0936 co.uk
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