Investment accounts
Adult accounts
Child accounts
Choosing Fidelity
Choosing Fidelity
Why invest with us Current offers Fees and charges Open an account Transfer investments
Financial advice & support
Fidelity’s Services
Fidelity’s Services
Financial advice Retirement Wealth Management Investor Centre (London) Bereavement
Guidance and tools
Guidance and tools
Choosing investments Choosing accounts ISA calculator Retirement calculators
Share dealing
Choose your shares
Tools and information
Tools and information
Share prices and markets Chart and compare shares Stock market news Shareholder perks
Pensions & retirement
Pensions, tax & tools
Saving for retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Speak to a specialist Creating a retirement plan Taking tax-free cash Pension drawdown Annuities Investing in retirement Investment Pathways
Agronomics investee Onego Bio raises EUR 27m
(Sharecast News) - Cellular agriculture investor Agronomics announced on Tuesday that its portfolio company Onego Bio has secured €27m in its series A financing round. The AIM-traded company said the investment, led by NordicNinja VC, a Japanese-Nordic venture capital outfit specialising in climate and deep tech, was a significant milestone for Onego Bio's mission to commercialise egg proteins through precision fermentation.
In addition to the series A funding, Onego Bio received €9.5m in non-dilutive funding from Business Finland, further bolstering its financial position.
Agronomics participated in the round with a €1.55m investment alongside existing investors Maki VC and Holdix, and new investors EIT Food and Tesi, the Finnish sovereign wealth fund.
Following completion of the aeries A round, Agronomics' position in Onego Bio was estimated to be valued at £11.1m (€12.9m), representing an unrealised gain of £3.8m.
That translated to a gross internal rate of return (IRR) of 27.57% and a multiple on invested capital (MOIC) of 1.53x.
Agronomics now held an equity stake of 16.36% in Onego Bio on a fully diluted basis, constituting 6.4% of Agronomics' last stated net asset value at 31 December, including post-balance sheet date adjustments.
Onego Bio's journey began in February 2022 when Agronomics led the seed round with a €6.9m investment.
That initial investment facilitated Onego Bio's exclusive licensing of proprietary strains of the highly-productive protein expression system Trichoderma reesei from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.
The decision to use Trichoderma was informed by its superior productivity and track record in other fields such as enzyme production.
A life-cycle analysis conducted by VTT and published in Nature Foods in 2021 highlighted the environmental benefits of producing ovalbumin via precision fermentation using Trichoderma compared to traditional methods involving chicken farming.
Agronomics said precision fermentation offered a more sustainable, ethical, and secure supply of egg protein, addressing issues such as environmental impact, animal welfare, and supply chain disruptions caused by outbreaks of avian flu.
Onego Bio's series A funding would be allocated towards scaling and optimising production processes, collaborating with contract manufacturing partners, and preparing for FDA regulatory approval in the United States.
The company expected to receive self-affirmed 'Generally Recognized as Safe' (GRAS) status for Bioalbumen this year, with FDA approval expected in 2025.
With plans for market entry in North America followed by expansion into Europe, South America, and Asia, it said Onego Bio was poised to revolutionise the egg protein market, valued at $136.2bn in 2022 and projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.4%.
"Eggs are an essential part of food businesses, but with the egg market constantly fluctuating in supply and costs due to avian flu and increased demand for cage-free, manufacturers are challenged to find a viable replacement with a consistent, reliable, and safe supply of high-quality protein at an accessible price," said Agronomics executive chairman Jim Mellon.
"A long-term sustainable solution for chicken eggs is needed; se have been highly impressed with Onego's capabilities and vision from the very beginning.
"By repurposing a well-established technology from the enzyme industry for food protein production, they are well-positioned to scale to the massive volumes needed to future-proof the supply of the world's most versatile and popular food protein."
At 1448 BST, shares in Agronomics were down 2.27% at 8.6p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Share this article
Related Sharecast Articles
Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
Award-winning online share dealing
Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.
Expert insights into investing your money
Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.
Policies and important information
Accessibility | Conflicts of interest statement | Consumer Duty Target Market | Consumer Duty Value Assessment Statement | Cookie policy | Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Doing Business with Fidelity | Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Reports | Investing in Fidelity funds | Legal information | Modern slavery | Mutual respect policy | Privacy statement | Remuneration policy | Staying secure | Statutory and Regulatory disclosures | Whistleblowing policy
Please remember that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance, the performance of investments is not guaranteed, and the value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. When investments have particular tax features, these will depend on your personal circumstances and tax rules may change in the future. This website does not contain any personal recommendations for a particular course of action, service or product. You should regularly review your investment objectives and choices and, if you are unsure whether an investment is suitable for you, you should contact an authorised financial adviser. Before opening an account, please read the ‘Doing Business with Fidelity’ document which incorporates our client terms. Prior to investing into a fund, please read the relevant key information document which contains important information about the fund.
This website is issued by Financial Administration Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (FCA Register number 122169) and registered in England and Wales under company number 1629709 whose registered address is Beech Gate, Millfield Lane, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 6RP.