M&As: Danimer Scientific to merge with Live Oak; to trade as public listed firm

Bioplastics firm Danimer Scientific, which manufactures PHA-based plastics, will through its merger agreement with Live Oak Acquisition Corp. result in it becoming a public company. Institutional investors commit to invest US$210 million at closing; including certain funds managed by affiliates of Apollo, Federated Hermes Kaufmann Small Cap Fund, and over US$50 million from Live Oak affiliates. At closing of the merger, it will expand production capacity from 9,000 tonnes/year to approximately 90,000 tonnes in 2025.

Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will be renamed Danimer Scientific and is expected to remain listed on the NYSE under a new ticker symbol. Danimer will continue to be led by Stephen E. Croskrey, Danimer’s current CEO.

Danimer Scientific’s Nodax PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) is a 100% biodegradable, renewable, and sustainable plastic produced using canola oil as a primary feedstock. Nodax PHA is the first PHA polymer to be certified as marine degradable, the highest standard of biodegradability, which verifies the material will fully degrade in ocean water without leaving behind harmful microplastics. As a result, it is said that Nodax offers a better beginning-of-life and end-of-life cycle than any of today’s traditional plastics, eliminates the need for recycling and can replace the 80% of plastics that are never recycled or incinerated.

Danimer is currently producing and shipping Nodax at an industrial scale level from its existing facility in Winchester, Kentucky. The company has partnered with key plastics manufacturers and consumer products companies such as PepsiCo, Nestlé, Genpak, WinCup, Columbia Packaging Group and Plastic Suppliers Inc. as they transition a wide variety of plastic applications, including straws, food and beverage containers, flexible packaging, agricultural and medical applications, among others. Based on signed and pending contracts, the company is fully sold out of all production in its Kentucky facility and will use their increased capital base to significantly increase production, to meet the current and long-term demand of its customer base.

It also has ownership of a portfolio of core patents purchased from Procter & Gamble in 2007, expanded to include numerous application-based patents, and now aggregating to more than 150 patents applicable in 20 countries.

“We are excited to partner with Live Oak and transition Danimer to be a public company,” said Stephen E. Croskrey, CEO of Danimer. “We are at an inflection point in our growth trajectory and this transaction will fuel the next phase of our rapid commercial expansion. Our research-based approach to creating environmentally responsible solutions has attracted a blue chip, multinational customer base and our partnership with Live Oak will allow us to further scale production to meet strong customer demand for our technology. We believe PHA has the ability to eliminate the pollution caused by single use plastics worldwide, a potentially remarkable achievement. We are well positioned to further expand our 100% biodegradable products to a wide range of plastic and specialty applications, with a long runway for profitable global growth.”

(PRA)

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