Feed protein producer Unibio generates $15m in financing round
It said the bridge round, arranged by West Hill Capital, was increased due to "significant investor demand", and that it was "oversubscribed".
The financing effort puts the valuation of Unibio now above US$300m. Unibio said the capital raised will be used for general corporate purposes and to support the company's future development plans.
Intellectual property
The protein innovator said it has also successfully closed the previously announced partnership agreement with Stafilies in respect of Protelux, the first industrial-scale plant producing the Danish company’s single cell protein, Uniprotein.
As part of the transaction, the intellectual property (IP) and experience gained by Protelux in constructing and operating the world’s first industrial-scale U-Loop fermenter will be shared with Unibio. The firm said that IP can now be leveraged when it is designing and building similar facilities around the world.
Following the partnership, Stafilies, a private international investment company backed by a group of international investors, with businesses interests in the UK, EU and CIS countries, is now a significant shareholder in Unibio.
Meanwhile, Unibio also announced that David Henstrom, its newly appointed CEO, who joined the feed protein developer from Cargill, has now officially taken up that role
Uniprotein is derived from the U-Loop technology fermentation: a continuous-flow fermentation of a microbial culture using any type of natural gas or methane, including bio-gas.
The company says the SCP has a 70% protein content that easily compares with high-value proteins like fishmeal and highly concentrated soy products, especially in aquaculture feeds and as starter feed for piglets.
Uniprotein, it added, will be sold through a network of distributors, as well as directly to large key accounts around the world.
Middle East focus
Unibio recently signed a licensing deal with Gulf Biotech, a Doha-based industrial biotech investor to produce its feed protein in Qatar.
The company said then that the abundance of natural gas in Qatar makes the country an obvious choice for the production of Uniprotein.
The licensing deal covers one production facility.
