Investment in Oritain Global Limited

11 December 2019

Agronomics Limited 

("Agronomics" or the "Company")

Investment in Oritain Global Limited

The board of Agronomics is pleased to announce it has today completed a subscription for NZ$ 500,000 for 40,000 Ordinary Shares (the "Subscription") in Oritain Global Limited ("Oritain"). Oritain is a forensic science and data technology company offering a solution to prevent fraud in food and other supply chains. They use world-leading forensic science to trace the origin of products, increasing accountability throughout supply chains. The Subscription will give Agronomics an expected 1.1% interest, on a fully diluted basis, in Oritain. The Subscription will be paid using cash from the Company's own resources.

Oritain is headquartered in New Zealand, with offices also located in London, Switzerland, Australia and the U.S. They partner with some of the world's largest companies in the food, pharmaceutical and textile industries, including COTTON USA, Kering, Foodbuy, Supima, and GE Healthcare amongst others. The company was founded in 2008 and markets itself as the global leader in scientifically proving the origin of products. Origin verification underpins brands' claims around product quality and sustainability, giving them the confidence to communicate these benefits to stakeholders and consumers alike.

Richard Reed, Chairman of Agronomics, commented: -

"Oritain complements Agronomics' existing portfolio as a later stage, revenue generating opportunity while maintaining our focus on impact investments. We are looking forward to working with Oritain as it continues to expand globally and build its customer base."

Grant Cochrane, CEO and co-founder of Oritain provided comment: -

"Agronomics boasts a truly innovative investment portfolio. Many of their current holdings are on the cutting edge of food and technology and include some of the food industry's biggest disruptors. As a forensic science and data company working within the food industry, we feel we are a good addition to this portfolio and are excited by the opportunity to work with such quality investors as Agronomics."

About Oritain Global Limited

Oritain analyses the actual product itself, tracing it back to its true origin using advanced science. With its team of experts in forensic science and data analysis, Oritain creates Origin Fingerprints to match products back to their claimed origin from any point in the supply chain. They work with some of the largest producers, manufacturers and retailers across the fashion, food, and pharmaceutical industries. For the year-end 31 March 2019, Oritain reported revenue of NZ$ 2,660,106 and a loss before tax of NZ$ 2,177,223. As at 31 March 2019 the Company reported net assets of NZ$ 8,471,369.

About Agronomics Limited

Agronomics is an investment company focused on opportunities within the nascent industry of modern foods, which are environmentally friendly alternatives to the traditional production of meat and plant-based sources of nutrition. It established its investment policy in April 2019, with a board of directors including Richard Reed, Jim Mellon, David Giampaolo, Denham Eke and Anderson Whamond. The Agronomics team are highly experienced entrepreneurs, investors and advisors with a track record of success.

Agronomics believes that the recent developments within cellular agriculture and alternative protein space will provide valuable contributions to meet the demands of increased global population growth and meat consumption in the future. The company sees cellular agriculture and aquaculture (also called cell-based or "clean meat") as a viable solution to relieve the pressure on arable farming and land usage.

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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ENDS