Agronomics puts $2m into cultivated chicken firm SuperMeat

(Sharecast News) - Cultivated meat and cellular agriculture company Agronomics has invested $2m, in the form of a 'simple agreement for future equity' (SAFE), in SuperMeat.
The AIM-traded firm said the subscription would be paid using cash from its own resources.

It said the SAFE would convert at a price per share reflecting the lower of the valuation cap, or at a 25% discount to the share price of SuperMeat's next equity round.

Agronomics said it expected that, upon conversion of the SAFE at the completion of SuperMeat's next equity fundraise , and assuming that it would be done at a pre-money valuation of $150m, Agronomics would hold about 2.22% of SuperMeat's fully-diluted share capital.

SuperMeat was founded in 2015, and its based in Israel with an initial focus on cultivated chicken products.

It had made "substantial" technological progress establishing a commercially-viable production process, Agronomics said, as evidenced by its operational pilot plant with a capacity to produce "several hundred pounds" of meat per week.

Most recently, SuperMeat unveiled its sustainable restaurant experience in Tel Aviv, 'The Chicken', where people could apply for a table and a meal of SuperMeat's cultivated chicken, while observing the meat being grown in bioreactors through a glass window.

'The Chicken' is the world's first test kitchen serving a menu of cultivated meat products.

"In our view, SuperMeat is one of the most advanced and impressive companies in the field of cellular agriculture," said chairman Richard Reed.

"SuperMeat has demonstrated leadership on many fronts, and most recently with the launch of their concept restaurant The Chicken.

"This investment in SuperMeat enhances Agronomics portfolio substantially, and we now believe we have the most comprehensive and investable portfolio of companies in the field of cellular agriculture with exposure to all major categories including beef, pork, chicken, seafood, novel proteins and materials."

At 1120 GMT, shares in Agronomics were down 0.69% at 9p.