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Lab-grown meat investment firm Agronomics is plotting to raise at least another £25m to further back its current portfolio companies in the sector.
The Isle of Man-headquartered company, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, plans to raise the money via a proposed placing of shares.
A minimum of £19.2m is expected to be raised through the issue of more than 83 million new ordinary shares, with company directors pledging an additional amount of at least £2.3m.
“The net proceeds of the fundraising and open offer will principally be used by the company to finance further investment into current portfolio companies and projects, and investment in new opportunities within the cellular agriculture sector,” Agronomics said in its proposal to the stock exchange.
Agronomics added it was in advanced discussions to make investments of up to $52m in six new and existing portfolio companies covering category leaders in cell culture and fermentation technologies.
The latest funding round follows more than £60m raised in May.
“In addition to these very near-term opportunities, the company has a significant pipeline of additional identified leads and expected funding rounds for existing portfolio companies,” the document said.
Agronomics has established a portfolio of 18 companies – including Livekindly, Mosa Meat, Meatable and VitroLabs – at various stages of growth in the rapidly advancing sector.
Cultivated meat, which is produced from cultures of animal cells and grown in a lab, has yet to be brought to market or received approval from any country.
Agronomics estimated the first regulatory approval in the US by the FDA would come in 2022 and full-scale commercialisation would occur in 2025.
Consultancy firm AT Kearney predicted lab-grown meat would make up 35% of the meat market by 2040.
Investment in the cultivated meat market is growing rapidly, with the $150m raised in the sector in 2016 to 2019, dwarfed by the $270m raised in 2020. This year so far, companies in the sector have raised a total of about $590m.
Morning update
On a quiet morning, the FTSE 100 has fallen back 0.7% to 7,117.9pts after yesterday’s gains.
Food to go and online stocks are down again, with fallers including Deliveroo, down 4.2% to 277.9p, Bakkavor, down 2.6% to 121.2p, Just Eat Takeaway.com, down 2.5% to 4,649.5p and Ocado, down 1.9% to 1,706.5p.
Risers include McColl’s, up 4.8% to 12.1p, Hotel Chocolat, up 0.8% to 498p and Unilever, up 0.7% to 3,882p.
Later this morning Ocado’s US partner Kroger releases its third quarter results.
Yesterday in the City
The FTSE 100 closed yesterday back up 1.6% to 7,168.7pts.
Risers included THG, up 4.6% to 185p, Greencore, up 4.6% to 130.7p, SSP Group, up 4.5% to 225p, Devro, up 3.9% to 214p, McBride, iup 3.5% to 66p, Paypoint, up 3.2% to 620p, DS Smith, up 3% to 369p and Bakkavor, up 2.8% to 124.4p.
The day’s fallers included McColl’s, down 3.8% to 11.5p, Ocado, down 3.1% to 1,739.5p, Deliveroo, down 3% to 290.1p, Hotel Chocolat, down 2% to 494p and Kerry Group, down 1.3% to €108.55.
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