The Venture Codex

Participated · Series C · Feb 2012

BioAmber has developed a proprietary technology platform that combines industrial biotechnology, an innovative purification process and chemical catalysis to convert renewable feedstocks into commercial chemicals. Its products include bio-succinic acid and derivatives intended for use in plastics, food additives and personal care products. The company completed a $30M Series C financing to support its growth and commercialization. BioAmber is collaborating with LANXESS to develop renewable, phthalate-free succinic-based plasticizers and expected to begin sampling those plasticizers in 2012. The two companies are also working together on establishing a world-scale bio-succinic acid manufacturing facility in Sarnia, Ontario, where LANXESS will provide the site, utilities and services. The company is led by CEO Jean-Francois Huc and has added LANXESS’ Jorge Nogueira to its board as part of the investment and collaboration. BioAmber Inc. is described in the article as a clean‑technology company whose technologies involve chemical engineering, catalysts, yeasts and bacteria. The company operates in the renewable chemistry/clean tech sector. On April 15, 2011 BioAmber closed a $45 million growth equity financing that was announced May 4, 2011. The transaction was led by NAXOS Capital Partners, a Luxembourg‑based private equity firm focused on renewable chemistry and energy. Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP (JMBM) represented NAXOS as the lead investor; attorneys on the deal included David B. Stern, Robert Steinberg, Rod Berman and Craig Levine. JMBM noted the deal presented cross‑border and intellectual property issues, reflecting the technical and IP‑intensive nature of BioAmber's technologies. DNP Green Technology is a late-stage bio-materials company preparing to commercialize bio-based succinic acid. The company will begin selling succinic acid in 2009 through its Bioamber joint venture with ARD. Bioamber’s plant was built at a cost of $27m and will produce bio-based succinic acid at commercial scale. The plant’s initial annual production capacity is 5,000,000 lbs. DNP Green recently completed a $12m equity funding round to support its operations and commercialization. The company maintains offices in Princeton, N.J., and Montreal and has a joint venture with ARD in Pomacle, France.

Led · Series C · Dec 2010

Elevance Renewable Sciences creates valued specialty chemicals from natural oils using olefin metathesis, a Nobel Prize–winning technology, to produce high-performance ingredients for personal care, detergents, lubricants, fuels and other specialty chemical markets. The company is based in Woodridge, Illinois. It announced a $104 million Series E financing to support strategic growth plans. Management said the investment will specifically support continued development of biorefineries in Asia and North and South America. The financing brought a strategic investor in the Genting Group via Lacustrine Limited and included participation from Total Energy Ventures International. Elevance emphasized that the addition of the Genting Group complements the strengths of its existing investors and highlights the importance of Malaysia and Asia in its global footprint. Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay of Genting Berhad will join Elevance’s board of directors. Elevance Renewable Sciences produces jet fuel, diesel, and specialty chemicals from renewable feedstocks such as soybean, corn and sunflower oils and poultry fat. Its core technology is olefin metathesis, a catalyst process that swaps molecular fragments on carbon-carbon double bonds to create new chemical compounds and manufacturing pathways. Founded in 2007 and based in the Chicago area, the company has gained traction in the market for green surfactants through partnerships with Dow Corning, Stepan, and Wilmar International. Elevance sells specialty chemicals to makers of bath and beauty products, detergents and lubricants. The company recently raised $100 million in a Series C to support international expansion and to build commercial-scale biorefineries in Asia, North and South America. Previously it won a $2.5 million Department of Energy grant in 2009 to construct a demo-scale refinery.