Aerofarms Secures Funding To Build Second Vertical Farm

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Almost 2 years aft emerging from bankruptcy, US vertical-farming business AeroFarms has raised caller costs to support building of a 2nd facility.

AeroFarms, which supplies microgreens grown successful a controlled indoor situation to nan unit channel, said successful a connection it has refinanced its indebtedness to “support” ongoing operations astatine its Danville tract successful Virginia. 

In addition, nan New Jersey-based institution said it has raised caller equity financing to money pre-construction activities for its caller farm, nan location of which was not identified successful nan statement.  

Molly Montgomery joined AeroFarms arsenic executive chair and CEO erstwhile nan institution surfaced from bankruptcy successful September 2023. When it entered Chapter 11 successful June of that twelvemonth nan business said it had “faced important manufacture and capital-market headwinds”.

The capital-intensive vertical-farming manufacture has encountered challenges astir money raising and scaling, pinch galore firm participants struggling to summation profitability. Many person gone retired of business.

Montgomery was (and still is) a partner astatine agri-food investor Grosvenor Food & AgTech (GFA) erstwhile she took connected nan CEO domiciled astatine AeroFarms, which was 1 of nan company’s existing investors, on pinch Doha Venture Capital. They were some portion of an “asset acquisition agreement” successful nan bankruptcy resolution.

GFA, arsenic good arsenic Ingka Investments, Cibus Capital, ACEG, and others, person now provided nan caller equity financing.

“We person precocious demonstrated that vertical farming tin so beryllium sustainable, profitable, and nutrient caller greens astatine scale,” Montgomery said successful nan statement.

“Our imagination is to supply section nutrient accumulation of nutritious microgreens to regions astir nan world, while preserving earthy resources.”

AeroFarms said an asset-based indebtedness from Siguler Guff was utilised to afloat repay a erstwhile indebtedness installation from Horizon Technology Finance.  

The caller indebtedness offers a “more favourable liking rate”, interest-only terms, and a carve-out for eligible instrumentality financing, nan group said.   

Montgomery extended “gratitude” to nan financial partners who “provided financing to support our cognition successful Danville and commencement of pre-construction activities for description to a 2nd farm”. 

Before Chapter 11, AeroFarms besides operated different installation successful Newark, New Jersey. Just Food has asked nan institution to corroborate what happened to that tract and for much specifications connected nan location and finance outlay for nan caller plant.

Meanwhile, Stephan Dolezalek, a managing partner of GFA, said successful nan statement: “We judge AeroFarms tin play a important domiciled successful nan world caller nutrient proviso chain, by providing nutritious greens astatine standard to section regions astir nan world.  

“AeroFarms has now proven nan expertise to present nan transformative benefits of vertical farming done a viable, profitable business.”