Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc., Vancouver, said Oct. 7 that it has closed on an initial tranche of financing for proceeds of approximately US$5 million, comprising part of a larger financing being conducted by the company for aggregate proceeds of up to $16.5 million. The financing is being co-led by long-standing Ostara investors, Wheatsheaf Group Ltd., London, and VantagePoint Capital Partners, San Bruno, Calif., with follow-on participation by other existing Ostara shareholders.
Proceeds will be used to accelerate near-term scaling of fertilizer production at Ostara’s Southeastern U.S.-based toll granulator (GM Oct. 4, p. 1), to support continued growth of the company’s fertilizer sales and nutrient recovery systems in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and for other strategic purposes.
“Ostara is truly at the center of an industry shift where end-users are, more than ever, demanding new crop nutrition solutions that not only provide excellent agronomics but which are also environmentally responsible; our corporate philosophy is built on these fundamentals and we are fortunate to be supported by sophisticated investors who are fully aligned with our strategy,” said Dan Parmar, Ostara President and CEO. “For our fiscal year just ended, we outsold production of our Crystal Green® fertilizer, selling more than four times our volumes sold in the previous fiscal year, and we are on track to significantly better those results this year. As a result, we recently contracted Southwestern U.S.-based tolling capacity to feed into this product demand and funds from this financing will be used to fast-track production scale-up and capacity enhancements for that facility and to further support fertilizer and technology system sales globally.”
“Over the past six months, Ostara has scaled up its sustainable fertilizer production to meet the demand arising from a growing recognition within the market of the value its products offer,” said Wheatsheaf CEO Graham Ramsbottom. “We are excited to be playing a key role in supporting Ostara as it continues to expand its profile in this rapidly evolving industry and we believe the consumer trends driving this growth are here for the long term.”
Wheatsheaf is a U.K.-based organization that directly operates, invests in and helps to develop businesses in the food and agriculture sector to meet the growing demands of a changing global population.
“VantagePoint has always been an enthusiastic supporter of companies that combine sound business principles with leading-edge technology and a sustainability focus, and the Ostara story is no exception”, said Tom Bevilacqua, VantagePoint Managing Director with Financing, a global venture investor, supporting companies from start-up to scale-up with a special focus on resource innovation and efficiency. “We believe Ostara is uniquely positioned to significantly change the way in which food is grown around the world and we are excited to continue to provide meaningful capital to augment the tremendous growth being made by the company.”
Ostara’s Pearl® technology recovers phosphorus and nitrogen from industrial, agricultural, and municipal water streams, and transforms these nutrients into slow-release Crystal Green® phosphate fertilizers which are sold into the agriculture and turf sectors through a network of distributors in North America and Europe.