Kartell enters Bio-on to help develop new technologies

• Strategic and industrial operation aims to accelerate development of Bio-on technologies and gain a leadership position in the new frontier of organic electronics.
• Bio-on researchers confirm the extraordinary versatility of the completely natural and 100% biodegradable technology currently in development: a platform product that will be used to transform the electronics sector and make it eco-sustainable.

Milan (ITALY), 20 December 2017 - Bio-on, listed on the AIM segment of Borsa Italiana and a leading player in the new eco-sustainable chemical industry, announces a strategic agreement with Kartell, through its parent company Felofin which takes a 2% stake in Bio-on with a 10 million Euro investment. Kartell is a symbolic Made in Italy company: experimentation with new technologies and an innovative use of plastics have always formed the basis of its products, and the challenge facing both Bio-on and Kartell today is to accelerate the development of organic electronics based on Bio-on's technologies in order to gain a leadership position in this new sector. Research in this field of application is already being conducted at Bio-on laboratories and the first results are expected in 2018.

"The investment announced today marks the entry of a strategic partner into our company," explains Bio-on Chairman and CEO Marco Astorri, "and we are particularly proud that such a prestigious brand as Kartell recognises the innovation and potential of the technologies developed by Bio-on. The new frontier in organic electronics has long been a part of the development plan for our bioplastic, a platform product that has already shown it can be used in various industrial sectors to make eco-sustainable products. This is why we want to share our technology with an industrial partner like Kartell, which represents Italian excellence around the world."

"I am very pleased to be exploring the 'future'," explains Kartell Chairman Claudio Luti, "and particularly discovering new and completely different technologies from the ones we have used to date. This partnership is in line with the strategies of Kartell, which is always looking for innovations that can take the brand forward as it grows and develops both industrially and in terms of products. Incredibly innovative materials are in development and, together with Bio-on, we can be a part of this great change."

All the biomaterials developed by Bio-on (PHAs or polyhydroxyalkanoates) are made from renewable plant sources with no competition with food supply chains. In most cases, they guarantee the same thermo-mechanical properties as conventional plastics with the advantage of being 100% eco-sustainable and naturally biodegradable. Thanks to these special characteristics, Bio-on today extends the use of its materials to the most innovative and interesting fields of application such as organic electronics.

Felofin completed the purchase of a 2% stake in Bio-on S.p.A, purchasing 377,000 shares on 15 December 2017 in equal parts directly from founding partners Marco Astorri and Guy Cicognani at a unit price of 26.5251 Euro (for an overall equivalent of 10 million Euro). Following the operation, the controlling share of the two founding partners is equal to 61.01%: Marco Astorri and Guy Cicognani now directly hold 6.60% each, while the shares held by Capsa Srl, controlled by the two partners, continue to represent 47.81% of Bio-on S.p.A.'s shares.  

A leading design company founded in Milan in 1949, Kartell has been a symbol of Italian design for almost 70 years. A success story told through an incredible array of products - furniture, homeware, lighting - that have become part of the domestic landscape, not to mention actual contemporary design icons. Since 1988, Claudio Luti, working alongside some of the world's most prestigious designers (including Philippe Starck, Ron Arad, Antonio Citterio, Ferruccio Laviani, Piero Lissoni, Patricia Urquiola, Tokujin Yoshioka, Mario Bellini, Alberto Meda, Nendo and Eugeni Quitllet), continues with the same fervour and enthusiasm as the founder, Giulio Castelli, to seek out new technologies, forms and styles by seamlessly teaming the experience of designers with the potential and requirements of the company. The Kartell collection is multifunctional and broad in its appeal, easy to use and beautiful to behold. Colour, irony, transparency, unique shapes and a play of the senses all come together to make unique pieces: Kartell product is immediately recognisable around the world for the emotion it generates, its durability and undisputed quality. Over the years, Kartell has won an enviable series of major international awards, including nine Compasso d'Oro prizes. Founded in 1999, Kartellmuseo preserves the company's history and won the Guggenheim Business and Culture Award for the best company museum in 2000. The company operates in the habitat sector, specialising in furniture, homeware and lighting (the latter being successfully reintroduced into the range in 2000), but also in contract furnishings and e-commerce. In addition to furniture, other branches of the business include Kartell à la mode, which produces and sells fashion accessories, Kartell in Tavola, specialising in tableware, Kartell Fragrances, for home fragrances, as well as the Kids line. In 2013 the company began a partnership with Swiss bathroom furniture brand Laufen, which produced the first "Kartell by Laufen" crossover collection.

Press information - Raffaella Pollini - +39335284397 - press2@kartell.it

Bio-On S.p.A., an Italian Intellectual Property Company (IPC), operates in the bioplastic sector conducting applied research and development of modern bio-fermentation technologies in the field of eco-sustainable and completely naturally biodegradable materials. In particular, Bio-On develops industrial applications through the creation of product characterisations, components and plastic items. Since February 2015, Bio-On S.p.A. has also been operating in the development of natural and sustainable chemicals for the future. Bio-On has developed an exclusive process for the production of a family of polymers called PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoates) from agricultural waste (including molasses and sugar cane and sugar beet syrups). The bioplastic produced in this way is able to replace the main families of traditional plastics in terms of performance, thermo-mechanical properties and versatility. Bio-On PHAs is a bioplastic that can be classified as 100% natural and completely biodegradable: this has been certified by Vincotte and by USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). The Issuer's strategy envisages the marketing of licenses for PHAs production and related ancillary services, the development of R&D (also through new collaborations with universities, research centres and industrial partners), as well as the realisation of industrial plants designed by Bio-On.

Press information: Simona Vecchies +393351245190 - press@bio-on.it - Twitter @BioOnBioplastic