Vertical Farming

SV / ARFM / AeroFarms
= AeroFarms, the World Leader in Indoor Vertical Farming, to Become Publicly Traded Company through Combination with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. =


 * AeroFarms® is revolutionizing agriculture, leveraging its proprietary technology platform to grow great-tasting produce at commercial scale and innovate the market for vertical farming.
 * Founded in 2004, AeroFarms is a certified B Corporation and public benefit corporation on a mission to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity.
 * $1.9 trillion total addressable market today, with opportunities to enter new product categories with established, industry-leading strategic partnerships.
 * AeroFarms data science driven and fully-controlled technology platform enables the company to better understand plants, optimize farms, improve quality and reduce costs.
 * AeroFarms’ Dream Greens® brand wins on quality, flavor, taste and texture with products sold throughout the Northeast U.S. at major retailers, including Whole Foods Market, ShopRite, Amazon Fresh and FreshDirect.
 * Business combination is expected to fully fund the equity needs of AeroFarms’ growth strategy, including expanding retail distribution and market penetration, constructing additional farms, introducing future generations of proprietary farming technology and entering new product categories.
 * All AeroFarms’ stockholders will roll 100% of their equity holdings into the new public company.
 * Transaction is expected to provide up to $357 million in gross proceeds to AeroFarms – comprised of Spring Valley’s $232 million of cash held in trust, assuming no redemptions, and a $125 million fully committed PIPE at $10.00 per share, including investments from leading institutional investors, AeroFarms insiders, and Pearl Energy Investments, the sponsor of Spring Valley.
 * Following the expected second quarter 2021 transaction close, the combined company is expected to have an estimated pro forma equity value of approximately $1.2 billion and will remain listed on Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol “ARFM.”

APPH / AppHarvest
MOREHEAD, Ky., Feb. 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AppHarvest (“the Company”), a leading AgTech company and Certified B Corp building and operating some of the country’s largest high-tech indoor farms to sustainably grow affordable, nutritious, chemical pesticide-free non-GMO fruits and vegetables at scale using 90 percent less water than traditional open-field agriculture and 100 percent recycled rainwater, and Novus Capital Corp. (Nasdaq: NOVS) (“Novus Capital”), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, announced today that they have completed their previously announced business combination and related charter amendments. The resulting company is named AppHarvest, Inc. and its common stock and warrants will commence trading on Nasdaq under the new ticker symbols “APPH” and “APPHW,” respectively, on Monday, February 1, 2021. AppHarvest has qualified to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, which is the highest of three tiers based on certain financial, liquidity and corporate governance requirements that the company met. The combined company will be led by Jonathan Webb, AppHarvest’s Founder & Chief Executive Officer.

KRNL / Infarm
Infarm, a startup focused on indoor and urban farming, is in advanced talks to go public through a merger with Kernel Group Holdings Inc., a blank-check firm, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

A transaction would value the combined entity at more than $1 billion, said one of the people, who requested anonymity because the talks are private. Terms aren’t finalized and negotiations could still collapse.

Representatives for Kernel and Infarm didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

San Francisco-based Kernel, led by Chief Executive Officer Mark Gross, the former CEO of Supervalu, raised about $305 million in a February initial public offering.

June 16, 2021 News

LIII Local Bounti
From AgFunder, June 23:

Local Bounti agrees $1.1bn SPAC deal backed by Cargill


 * US indoor farming startup Local Bounti will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange after agreeing to merge with Leo Holdings III Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
 * The merger, which values the Hamilton, Montana-based indoor farmer at $1.1 billion, is expected to provide $400 million in gross proceeds – including a $125 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) deal anchored by BNP Paribas, Cargill, Fidelity, and Sarath Ratanavandi – CEO of Thailand’s Gulf Energy Development.
 * Cargill has separately agreed to provide $200 million in debt financing to Local Bounti.