US biotech company FuturaGene plc (AIM:FGN) has acquired Israeli agricultural biotech start-up CBD Technologies Inc. for up to $14 million in shares.
CBD was founded 13 years ago and is based in the Kiryat Weizmann Science Park in Rehovot. The company uses genetic engineering to speed up tree growth for plantation forests, thereby reducing pressure on natural forests. The company introduces the CBD gene into plants to express CBD (cellulose binding domain) proteins within the cell wall of plant tissue. CBD Technologies’ president and CEO is Dr. Stanley Hirsch.
FuturaGene is acquiring CBD in two stages. It will make an initial payment of £3.02 million ($5 million), in exchange for the issue of 4.95 million new ordinary shares of ₤0.50 each in FuturaGene, and will subsequently issue up to a further 6.67 million new shares if CBD meets certain conditions and revenue targets.
FuturaGene was founded in Indiana in 2001 and went public in London in 2004. The company develops environmentally friendly solutions that enable plants to grow in harsh conditions and improve crop yields. The company’s share has fallen by 33% since January and 41% in the past 12 months, to a current market cap of $40 million. It is the only agricultural biotechnology traded on the London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM).
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on November 26, 2006
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