EMERYVILLE, Calif., Aug. 03, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amyris, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMRS), the industrial bioscience company, today announced agreements for $50 million in equity financing as part of the second tranche of its previously announced financing. The second tranche of $50 million in a private placement, which is expected to close within the next couple of days is being led by a $25-million investment from Koninklijke DSM N.V. (Royal DSM) (AEX:DSM.AS) with the remaining $25 million contributed by Vivo Capital, a healthcare investment firm focused on investing in and building high quality companies in the U.S. and China.
“We are pleased with the progress we’ve made thus far in working closely with Amyris to plan how best to leverage each other’s strengths to create value and foster growth,” said Chris Goppelsroeder, President & CEO of DSM Nutritional Products. “This has already led to the designation of several product targets that should prove to be key growth drivers within animal- and human health markets.”
“Amyris fits well with our strategy of focusing on growth companies with leading underlying technology, a strong intellectual property portfolio and market potential,” said Frank Kung, Managing Partner and Founding Member of Vivo Capital. “We are excited to support funding the next stage of the company’s expanding growth in key markets, including China, where Amyris is poised to take advantage of a significant market opportunity for health, nutritional and personal care products that support better health for a growing population.”
“We are thankful for the support of these and other key investors that have enabled Amyris to become the fastest growing Industrial Biotechnology company with a product sales growth rate that continues to double year over year,” said John Melo, Amyris President & CEO. “With the completion of this second tranche, we anticipate that we are now fully capitalized to continue our product sales growth rate while at the same time we remain focused on improving our margins for the long term sustainability of our company.”
Following the close of this tranche, Vivo Capital will be granted an Amyris board seat and DSM gains an additional board seat. Terms of the private placement and related agreements are more fully disclosed in the Form 8-K filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available free of charge at sec.gov.
About Amyris
Amyris is the integrated renewable products company that is enabling the world’s leading brands to achieve sustainable growth. Amyris applies its innovative bioscience solutions to convert plant sugars into hydrocarbon molecules and produce specialty ingredients and consumer products. The company is delivering its No Compromise® products across a number of markets, including specialty and performance chemicals, flavors and fragrances, cosmetics ingredients, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals. More information about the company is available at www.amyris.com.
Amyris Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements, and any statements other than statements of historical facts could be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding future events (such as the expected closing of the equity financing, including the timing thereof, the anticipated development of product targets expected to be key growth drivers within animal- and human health markets, expected business growth, including in China, anticipated product sales and product sales growth rate, and expected future financing activity) that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on management's current expectations and actual results and future events may differ materially due to risks and uncertainties, including risks related to manufacturing capacity at Amyris’s Brotas facility, delays or failures in development, production and commercialization of products, liquidity and ability to fund capital expenditures, Amyris’s reliance on third parties to achieve its goals, and other risks detailed in the “Risk Factors” section of Amyris’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed on May 15, 2017. Amyris disclaims any obligation to update information contained in these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Amyris, the Amyris logo and No Compromise are registered trademarks of Amyris, Inc. All other trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to Editors: Please see news release issued May 11, 2017, entitled, "Amyris Announces Closing Of First Tranche Of Up To $95 Million In Equity Financing And Conversion Of Over $55 Million Of Debt To Equity”.