Montreal, Quebec, Canada
June 1, 2016
Inocucor Technologies Inc., the Montreal-based developer of sustainable microbial crop accelerators, announced it has raised an additional $6 million in an extended Series A financing with participation from two Canadian and two U.S.-based early-stage venture capital/family office investors and from board members.
Cycle Capital Management, a Montreal Cleantech venture capital fund and early investor in Inocucor, was joined in the funding by Desjardins Innovatech Canada's leading cooperative financial group with more than $200 billion in assets; Red Metal Capital a Michigan-based family office fund; and Closed Loop Capital an early-stage agriculture technology and food system innovation fund based in greater Philadelphia.
The investment will finance the commercial scale-up of Inocucor's patented first-in-class bio-stimulant product, Garden Solution®, which is produced through fermentation akin to winemaking. Inocucor's patented technology enables it to isolate and combine multiple strains of naturally occurring yeasts and bacteria into powerful bio-stimulants that increase the microbial diversity of soils and speed delivery of nutrients to plants, thereby improving crop yields.
"Our business model calls for a range of bio-based products that ultimately will help farmers feed a growing population with fewer or no chemical inputs," said Donald R. Marvin, president and CEO of Inocucor.
Marvin said Inocucor's growth strategy is focused on establishing commercial partnerships that include its intellectual property as a key ingredient for new bio-stimulation, bio-fertility and bio-protection products for large-scale production farmers. It also plans to make strategic acquisitions that will hasten the commercialization of its proprietary microbial consortia technology and broaden its product pipeline.
Garden Solution, OMRI Listed® for organic production, is approved for sale in 27 U.S. states. It is currently in use by farmers and greenhouse growers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Virginia. Marvin said Garden Solution's full registration in California, one of the world's largest agricultural economies, is imminent.
Recent field trials employing Inocucor's first- and second-generation sustainable biological accelerators with leading industry and academic partners in Canada and the U.S. have produced significant yield increases in high-value produce and row crops.
In June, the company will launch a follow-on equity financing round to support opening a U.S. office to better serve its commercial partners and customers. Inocucor will also expand large-scale field trials and commercialization activities in North and South America for its second- and third-generation cell-free biological formulations for bio-stimulation, proprietary new biological entities and active compounds for bio-fertility and bio-protection.
About Inocucor Technologies Inc.
Inocucor Technologies Inc., based in Montreal, is an ag biotech company that develops sustainable biological products for agriculture targeting the phyto-microbiome—the seeds, plants, root systems and the soil surrounding them. Inocucor's first-generation product, Garden Solution®, employs live microbes to actively improve the health of the entire phyto-microbiome. Future generations of Inocucor products are powerful cell-free biological formulations for bio-stimulation, and proprietary new biological entities and active compounds for bio-fertility and bio-protection targeting mainstream production agriculture. For more information, visit www.inocucor.com.
About Cycle Capital Management
A pioneer among Canadian venture capital funds focused on the clean-tech sector, Cycle Capital invests in companies developing and commercializing clean technologies and striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, optimizing resource use, and improving process efficiency throughout a product’s life cycle. With assets under management of $230 million, Cycle Capital invests in Quebec and northeastern North America. Cycle Capital is composed of experienced investment professionals, strategic advisors, and industrial partners with in-depth knowledge of the sector. Cycle Capital has a special relationship with its strategic partners, notably Brookfield Renewable Energy, Rio Tinto Alcan, Cascades, Master Group, Lonza, Gaz Métro, Systemex Énergies, Aluminerie Alouette, and Hydro-Québec. For more information, visit www.cyclecapital.com
About Desjardins Innovatech
Desjardins –Innovatech provides capital, business network and expertise to assist companies and cooperatives in their growth, expansion, mergers, acquisitions or IPO. For more information, visit www.desjardins.com
About Red Metal Capital
The Dorman Group of Companies are part of a single family office that manages investments and various activities on behalf of the Dorman family. Red Metal Capital is the early-stage investment arm of the Group. Most of the Group's activities are focused in and around the commodities industry, more specifically metals, mining, energy and agriculture. Investments and acquisitions are made in both private and public markets with companies and assets at every stage of the investment cycle from start-up to mature operating companies. For more information, visit www.dormangroupofcompanies.com
About Closed Loop Capital
Closed Loop Capital is an early-stage venture capital platform investing in exceptional entrepreneurs leading ventures in agriculture technology and food system innovation in the United States and Canada. For more information, visit www.closedloopcapital.com
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