NEOM Signs MoU with BlueNalu to Commercialise, Market and Distribute BlueNalu's Cell-Cultured Seafood

DOUGLAS, ISLE OF MAN / ACCESSWIRE / November 1, 2023 / Agronomics (LSE:ANIC), the leading listed company focused on the field of cellular agriculture, is pleased to report that, following the recently announced completion of portfolio company BlueNalu's US$ 35.5 million Series B Financing Round, NEOM Investment Fund was the lead investor with a US$ 20 million investment. BlueNalu have reported that this investment marks the start of a strategic partnership that aims to progress the commercialisation, marketing, and distribution of BlueNalu's cell-cultured seafood products, and reflects the mutual interests of both organisations in developing solutions that increase food security and improve access to healthy foods for communities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and worldwide.

In aggregate, Agronomics has invested US$ 8 million across BlueNalu's Seed and Series A Financings and a pre-Series B Convertible Promissory Note ("CPN"). Following the close of the Series B, the CPN has been converted into Series B Preferred Shares. Agronomics now holds an equity stake in BlueNalu of 5.12% on a fully diluted basis. Subject to audit, Agronomics will now carry this position forward at a book value of £13.3 million, representing an IRR of 26.85% and a MOIC of 2x.

The holding in BlueNalu will amount to approximately 8% of the last published Net Asset Value of the Company (30.06.23), including estimated post-balance sheet date adjustments.

NEOM's full announcement is set out below without any material changes:

NEOM and BlueNalu Forge Strategic Partnership to Revolutionise Sustainable and Secure Food Ecosystem

NEOM, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 31 October 2023: NEOM, the sustainable regional development taking shape in northwest Saudi Arabia, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BlueNalu, the global leader in the development of cell-cultured seafood.

The partnership aims to progress the commercialisation, marketing, and distribution of BlueNalu's cell-cultured seafood products, and reflects the mutual interests of both organisations in developing food solutions that increase food security and improve access to healthy foods for communities in the Kingdom and worldwide.

Core objectives of the MoU include supporting the establishment of an incubation and food innovation ecosystem in the Kingdom; public education and outreach activities; conducting extensive consumer research; and engaging with regulatory agencies to enable the approval and sale of these novel foods.

This partnership followed NEOM Investment Fund USD 20 million investment in BlueNalu. The funding will enable the next stage of BlueNalu's growth and its continued progress toward scaling and commercialising healthy and sustainable seafood around the globe.

Majid Mufti, Chief Executive Officer of NEOM Investment Fund, commented: "Our investment in BlueNalu goes beyond mere financial backing; it marks a pivotal moment in our commitment to fostering sustainable regenerative aquaculture and resilient food ecosystems. By aligning NEOM Food with BlueNalu's trailblazing approach, we're not just envisioning a sustainable future-we're investing in the transformative technologies that make it achievable. This is yet another demonstration of how NEOM Investment Fund serves as a cornerstone in actualizing NEOM's overarching vision."

Dr. Juan Carlos Motamayor, Executive Director of NEOM Food, said: "NEOM is committed to building a resilient future, and our partnership with BlueNalu aligns perfectly with our goals. In BlueNalu, we have found the perfect nexus of visionary leadership, groundbreaking technology, and a holistic approach to product innovation. We look forward to working with them to shape a more sustainable and resilient food ecosystem."

Cell-cultured seafood, real seafood produced directly from fish cells, is poised to revolutionize the production and consumption of these products around the globe. This emerging technology can result in seafood with the same taste, texture, and nutritional value as their conventional counterparts, but resulting in products that are consistent, healthy, secure, and sustainable, thereby fulfilling consumer preferences. Importantly, this production method has the potential to significantly reduce the environmental impact of protein production.

Lou Cooperhouse, Founder, President & Chief Executive Officer of BlueNalu, said: "This collaboration with NEOM is a monumental step towards creating a more secure and accessible supply of seafood in the Kingdom. By combining our global expertise in cell-cultured seafood and the tremendous number of strategic partnerships we've developed to date at BlueNalu, together with NEOM's extraordinary vision and resources, we can accelerate the development of innovative, renewable food solutions via cell-cultured seafood."

The partnership further strengthens NEOM's ongoing commitment to harnessing innovation to nourish people and the planet and guaranteeing food security for generations to come.

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About NEOM

NEOM is an accelerator of human progress and a vision of what a new future might look like. It is a region in northwest Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea being built from the ground up as a living laboratory - a place where entrepreneurship will chart the course for this new future. It will be a destination and a home for people who dream big and want to be part of building a new model for exceptional livability, creating thriving businesses and reinventing environmental conservation.

NEOM will include hyperconnected, cognitive cities, ports and enterprise zones, research centers, sports and entertainment venues and tourist destinations. As a hub for innovation, entrepreneurs, business leaders and companies will come to research, incubate, and commercialize new technologies and enterprises in groundbreaking ways. Residents of NEOM will embody an international ethos and embrace a culture of exploration, risk-taking and diversity.

For further information email media@NEOM.com or visit www.NEOM.com and www.NEOM.com/en-us/newsroom.

For further information about BlueNalu please visit www.BlueNalu.com.

About Agronomics

Agronomics is the leading listed venture capital firm with a focus on cellular agriculture. The Company has established a portfolio of over 20 companies at the Pre-Seed to Series C stage in this rapidly advancing sector. It seeks to secure minority stakes in companies owning technologies with defensible intellectual property 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 Cellular Agriculture

Cellular Agriculture is the production of agriculture products directly from cells, as opposed to raising an animal for slaughter or growing crops. This encompasses cell culture to produce cultivated meat and materials, and fermentation processes that harness a combination of molecular biology, synthetic biology, tissue engineering and biotechnology to massively simplify production methods in a sustainable manner.

Over the coming decades, the source of the world's food supply traditionally derived from conventional agriculture is going to change dramatically. We have already witnessed the first wave of this shift with the consumer adoption of plant-based alternative proteins but today, we are on the cusp of an even bigger wave of change. This is being facilitated by advances in cellular agriculture. This change is necessary, given scientists' claims that if we maintain existing animal protein consumption patterns, then we will not meet the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting warming to 1.5℃.

AT Kearney, a global consultancy firm, projects that cultivated meat's market share will reach 35% by 2040. This combined with the Good Food Institute's estimate that a US $1.8 trillion investment will be required to produce just 10% of the world's protein using this technology, means that we are on the cusp of a multi-decade flow of capital to build out manufacturing facilities. Funding in the field of cellular agriculture is accelerating, however, still, less than US$ 5 billion has been invested worldwide since the industry's inception in 2016.

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SOURCE: Agronomics Limited