Euronext Growth-listed Kalera has acquired the German agricultural company & ever GmbH for a company value of 130 million euros, equivalent to about 1.35 billion Norwegian kroner.
The acquisition will consist of a combination of cash and Kalera shares. In total, shareholders of & ever GmbH will receive €21.6 million in cash and 27.8 shares of Kalera.
That’s what the company confirmed on Wednesday morning — at the same time it presented its second-quarter numbers.
Here it is clear that the company made an operating profit of -7.1 million dollars, compared to -2.0 million dollars last year.
The company that will manage the farming at home, has Stein Erik Hagen as the largest shareholder through his investment firm Canica. In the most recent list of shareholders, Hagen owns just over six percent of the stock in the company.
Want to be listed in the US
The company, which raised 930 million NOK and was listed on Euronext Growth in October last year, announced earlier this year that it would like to apply for a listing on the Nasdaq in the USA during the fall of 2021.
The new global Kalera company created after the ever-acquisition of & GmbH has a very bright future as we continue to position ourselves as a global leader in vertical farming, Kalera CEO Daniel Malichuk wrote in the quarterly report.
Today, German & ever GmbH has operations in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, and after the acquisition it will take the name Kalera Gmbh.
Today’s acquisition news occurs about six months after the previous acquisition. Then Kalera bought Vindara, which develops seeds designed for indoor cultivation.
With Vindara, we can now use our unique seed development opportunities to increase yield and productivity as well as improve new product development to provide customers with unique product solutions. We expect Vindara seeds to be put into private Kalera production during September, Malechuck says in the report.
On Wednesday, Kalera was valued at NOK 5.3 billion.
Production problems this summer
This summer, Kalera has struggled with ship delays due to faults in electrical components that drive the grow lights at its Atlanta farming facilities.
The error should have a negative impact on the May, June and July result, but production should now be back to normal speed.
On the other hand, the company’s plant in Orlando reports significant growth in sales. Compared to the second quarter of last year, sales revenue doubled.
The significant growth was driven by several factors, including a recovery in the food service sector as the community reopens and retail volumes increase, Malechuck says in the quarterly report.
Revenue in the second quarter ended at $489,000, up from $222,000 last year.
There is still a long way to go before the company turns a profit. In the second quarter, earnings before tax closed at $-7.7 million.
In the quarterly report, Malechuck in particular notes that the company has included Kroger, one of the largest food chains in the United States, in its customer list. Thus, Kalera can sell its products in more than 400 new stores.
The company will cover increased production from its plants in Atlanta and Houston. In addition, the company plans to open new production facilities in Denver, Seattle, Hawaii, St. Paul and Columbus in the United States within the next year. (Terms)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and/or our suppliers. We want you to share our cases using a link that leads directly to our pages. All or part of the Content may not be copied or otherwise used with written permission or as permitted by law. For additional terms look here.
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