ARGENTINA – Integrated provider of crop productivity solutions Bioceres has achieved full ownership of soybean biotechnology firm Verdeca following the acquisition of remaining ownership interest from Arcadia.
Founded in 2012 as a joint venture between Bioceres and Arcadia, Verdeca develops second generation biotechnologies for soybean and works to globally commercialize HB4 Soy technology.
Having assumed full control of HB4 Soy, Bioceres plans to further accelerate the commercialization of this technology by increasing the number of related breeding collaborations and go-to-market partnerships in current as well as new geographies.
Full ownership also enables the Company to capture significantly more of HB4 Soy’s underlying economic value as revenues from this technology are generated.
As part of the transaction, Bioceres has also gained full access and control of Verdeca´s coveted soybean library of gene-edited materials used to develop new quality and productivity.
Through this transaction Bioceres has also acquired rights to Arcadia’s quality wheat traits and the related Good Wheat™ brand for Latin America.
The complementary portfolio of genome-edited materials being licensed includes wheat varieties that produce flour with 65% less gluten.
The wheat varieties also have ten times the dietary fiber content of conventional wheat flours, and oxidative stability which extends the shelf life of whole flours and food products produced with these flours.
Further, consumer point of view, these flours produce breads and other foods that are substantially equivalent in taste and all other aspects to conventional wheat.
In consideration for the acquisition of the above-mentioned rights and assets, Bioceres will pay Arcadia at the closing of the transaction US$5 million in cash and US$15 million in equity consisting of 1,875,000 Bioceres common shares priced at $8 and which are subject to a six-month lock-up period.
Following the closing of the transaction, Bioceres will also pay Arcadia: i) $2 million subject to a number of factors including Verdeca obtaining Chinese import clearance for HB4 Soy or achieving penetration of this technology in a minimum number of planted hectares.
Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. is a fully integrated provider of crop productivity technologies designed to enable the transition of agriculture towards carbon neutrality.
To do this, Bioceres’ solutions create economic incentives for farmers and other stakeholders to adopt environmentally friendlier production practices.
Through its HB4® program, the Company is bringing digital solutions to support growers’ decisions and provide end-to-end traceability for production outputs.
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