Agronomics investee BlueNalu raises $33.5m in series B round

Agronomics announced on Monday that its sustainable seafood investee, BlueNalu, has raised $33.5m in a series B financing round from a consortium of new and existing investors.

The AIM-traded firm said the substantial investment would act as a catalyst for BlueNalu’s forthcoming phase of growth and its ongoing journey towards bringing cellular agriculture-based seafood to the market in the US and globally.

It said BlueNalu had planned to introduce its first commercial product - premium bluefin tuna toro - on receiving regulatory approval.

Agronomics has backed BlueNalu through its journey, having channelled $8m through seed and series A financings and a pre-series B convertible promissory note (CPN).

With the closure of the series B, the CPN was converted into series B preferred shares, establishing Agronomics with a 5.12% equity stake in BlueNalu on a fully diluted basis.

Agronomics said it would now carry the position forward with a book value of £13.3m, ensuring an internal rate of return of 26.85% and a money-on-investment-cash of 2x, all subject to audit.

“The holding in BlueNalu will represent approximately 8% of the last published net asset value of the company, including estimated post-balance sheet date adjustments,” the board said in its statement.

At 1532 BST, shares in Agronomics were up 0.9% at 9.79p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.