Agronomics Regulatory News (ANIC)

1st September 2020

Agronomics Limited

("Agronomics" or the "Company")

Announces Participation in €15m Solar Foods Oy Series A Financing Round Led by Fazer Group

The Board of Agronomics is pleased to announce today that the Company has participated in Solar Foods Oy Series A financing round of €15 million. In this financing, Agronomics has invested €3.0 million for 1,127 Series A Preferred Shares (the "Subscription"), giving Agronomics an equity interest of 5.35% on a fully diluted basis in Solar Foods Oy ("Solar Foods"). The Subscription will be paid using cash from the Company's own resources inclusive of the nil interest unsecured 6-month bridging facility of £1.9 million, provided by Galloway Limited ("Galloway"), a company indirectly wholly owned by Jim Mellon. In order to make the investment, Galloway has agreed to a drawdown of £100,000 under the facility.

The €15 million fundraise was led by Fazer Group: The Food Experience Company, with Bridford Investments Limited, Lifeline Ventures and CPT Capital also participating. After the financing round, Fazer is the largest single shareholder in the Finnish start-up, with an approximately 15% ownership stake. The funding will be used to establish its first commercial factory located in Finland, scheduled to be operational in late 2022.

Solar Foods was founded in 2018 by a team of scientists at VTT Research Centre, Finland, including CEO Dr Pasi Vainikka and CTO Dr Juha-Pekka Pitkänen. Solar Foods develops a sustainable protein called Solein® a microorganism that grows utilising airborne carbon dioxide and hydrogen via the electrolysis of water. The protein is natural and has already been shown to have a high level of versatility in existing foods including meat-free burgers, yoghurts and granola bars. This overall offers a promising solution to disconnect global food production from animal-based agriculture.

Richard Reed, Chairman of Agronomics, commented: -

"Solar Foods possesses technology which provides a means of disconnecting protein production from the natural environment. The concept of utilising components of air and renewable electricity to produce protein without the need for vast amounts of land and water provides a viable solution to meet the future food demands without placing further strain on the planet's resources. Agronomics now has a comprehensive portfolio of companies with a variety of technologies, well placed to disrupt traditional agriculture"

Dr. Pasi Vainikka, CEO and co-founder of Solar Foods, added: -

"We are extremely delighted to welcome our new partners Agronomics, Bridford Investments and CPT Capital as our new partners and to have their vast experience now at Solar Foods' disposal. The funds raised on this financing round enable us to successfully proceed with our planned production facility and to go forward toward commercialisation of Solein® protein and bringing it on consumer plates. Our first factory will be located in Finland and is aimed to be the world's first commercial factory producing food out of air-captured CO2. Solar Foods' vision is to change the way food is produced. We want to disconnect protein production from the ever-increasing use of environmental resources. Turning this possibility into a reality is an exciting prospect, and we are grateful for our partners support in making it happen for real"

Since this Subscription is considered a Substantial Transaction under AIM Rule 12, this announcement requires certain disclosures under Schedule Four. Solar Foods is an early stage, pre-revenue company with costs of approximately €27,033 per month and total assets as at 31 December 2019 of approximately €5,120,152 including cash and near cash of €3,222,978 and no material liabilities.

About Solar Foods

Solar Foods produces protein using air and electricity. Solar Foods revolutionises food production with a method that is not dependent on agriculture, the weather, or the climate. The company was founded in Espoo, Finland, in 2017 by Dr Pasi Vainikka, Dr Juha-Pekka Pitkänen, Sami Holmström, Jari Tuovinen, Professor Jero Ahola and Janne Mäkelä as a spinoff from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the LUT University.

About Agronomics

Agronomics is an AIM-listed investment company centered on the nascent fields of cellular agriculture, precision fermentation and synthetic biology. The Company invests in technologies 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 Fazer Group

Fazer, The Food Experience Company, enables people to enjoy the best moments of their day. In 1891, the young Karl Fazer opened his first café with a mission to make food with a purpose - and a passion to create moments of joy for all the people around him. Shaping the next tastes, traditions and food experiences, Fazer is going Towards Perfect Days. Fazer wants people to experience the Northern Magic it creates and builds on its strong heritage, consumer first approach and innovations to create the sustainable food solutions of the future. The Group focuses on fast-moving consumer goods, operates in eight countries and exports to around 40 countries. In 2019, Fazer Group had net sales of 1.1 billion euros and almost 9,000 employees. Fazer's operations comply with ethical principles that are based on the Group's values and the UN Global Compact.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR'). Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service ('RIS'), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain. 

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