Israeli cultured meat developer Meat-Tech (TASE: MEAT) announced today that it had completed a NIS 20 million private placement from several investors including Rami Levy (through a private company), Israeli meat importer Adom, and institutional investors including Mor Investments, Psagot, Clal, Meitav, and private investors, some of them in the US.
The company said that the new funds will enable the company to list on Nasdaq. Meat-Tech also signed its first-ever commercial deal with Adom, to promote its products on international markets.
Following the announcement, Meat-Tech's share price rose over 10%, giving the company a market cap of NIS 200 million. The new funds were raised at NIS 3 per share, a 10% discount on last night's closing price. In addition, investors in the private placement also received warranties that can be exercised for NIS 3.95 in the next three years.
Meat-Tech is developing cultured meat produced by in-vitro cell cultures taken from cows without doing any damage to livestock. Meat-Tech's product is still in the development stage and the company hopes that with its new funding it can 3D print meat tissue by the end of 2020 including sinew, blood cells, fat, gristle etc., which produces a similar texture to meat.
Alternative meat is a popular sector for investors worldwide in recent years, boosted by concerns for the environment and the belief that the meat industry will be unable to satisfy the world's growing population. Beyond Meat's investors have double their investment since the company's IPO inMay 2019.
Rami Levy said, "We stand at the dawn of a new era in the food sector generally and the meat sector in particular with the entry of advanced technology for the production of cultured meat. I see the uniqueness of Meat-Tech, which plans printing meat slices and will become a major player in this important global race."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 1, 2020
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