Yield10 and Nufarm sign a Memorandum of Understanding for Sale of Assets

  • Nufarm to pay up to USD $5 million in consideration for the license
  • The parties will negotiate the sale of essentially all of Yield10’s assets to Nufarm

Woburn, MA and West Sacaramento, CA (July 17, 2024) - Yield10 Bioscience, Inc., an agricultural bioscience company, announced that the Company has signed a Memorandum of Understandingand License Agreement with Nuseed Nutritional US Inc. (the seed technologies platform of Nufarm Limited), granting Nufarm a commercial license to certain Omega-3 intellectual property assets, materials and know-how for producing oil in Camelina. 

Under the License Agreement, Nufarm will pay Yield10 up to USD $5 million. Nufarm and Yield10 have additionally agreed to immediately negotiate exclusively with each other for the sale of Yield10’s remaining assets to Nufarm. The asset sale will require an affirmative vote from the shareholders of Yield10, and a special meeting of shareholders will be convened to seek that vote following execution of the asset purchase agreement.

Producing omega-3 fatty acids in Camelina may represent a way to enable a predictable, land-based supply of high-quality omega-3 oils to meet the growing global demand for eicosatetraenoic acid (“EPA”) and docosahexaenoic acid (“DHA”). Currently, the primary source of EPA and DHA remains ocean-caught fish, where omega-3 oil produced from anchovy harvest is the industry benchmark. Over the last few years, there has been increasing pressure on the supply of omega-3 oil due to over-fishing.

“Yield10 camelina assets and know-how in both omega 3 and bioenergy sectors have a unique fit with Nufarm’s Value Beyond Yield® and platform strategies,” said Greg Hunt, CEO and Group Executive of Nufarm. “While the program still requires further development time and investment before achieving revenue, it offers a broadened portfolio of solutions for our customers both at the farm-gate and with end-use customers.”

“We believe that the transition of our Omega-3 Camelina program to Nufarm is in the best interest of our shareholders, business partners, and employees,” said Oliver Peoples, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Yield10 Bioscience. “We believe that the initial payment will allow us to manage key biological assets and regulatory requirements while providing us with the cash runway to secure the shareholder vote. We anticipate collaborating closely with the Nufarm team to finalize the asset purchase agreement and complete the shareholder vote. We believe that this will ensure a smooth transition and enable Nufarm to expedite the commercialization of plant-based omega-3 oils produced using Camelina."

About Nufarm

Nufarm is a global agricultural innovator providing crop protection and seed technology solutions to help our customers grow a better tomorrow. Established over 100 years ago, Nufarm is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX:NUF) with its head office in Melbourne, Australia. Nufarm is the first company to develop and commercialise plant-based omega-3 and has developed and commercialized advanced bioenergy feedstock technology. Learn more at: nufarm.com.au.

About Yield10 Bioscience

Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. ("Yield10" or the "Company") is an agricultural bioscience company that is leveraging advanced genetics to develop the oilseed Camelina sativa ("Camelina") as a platform crop for large-scale production of sustainable seed products. These seed products include feedstock oils for renewable diesel and sustainable aviation biofuels and omega-3 (EPA and DHA+EPA) oils for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and aquafeed applications. Yield10 is headquartered in Woburn, MA and has a Canadian subsidiary, Yield10 Oilseeds Inc., located in Saskatoon, Canada.

For more information about the Company, please visit www.yield10bio.com, or follow the Company on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and LinkedIn.

Nufarm granted Licence to Omega-3 Assets by Yield10

Highlights

  • Licence to omega-3 producing products and related herbicide and oil improvement technologies in camelina
  • Commencement of negotiations for the purchase of substantially all of Yield10’s assets

(July 18, 2024) - Nufarm CEO, Greg Hunt said, “Yield10 camelina assets and know-how in both omega-3 and bioenergy sectors have a unique fit with Nufarm’s Value Beyond Yield® and platform strategies. While the program still requires further development time and investment before achieving revenue, it offers a broadened portfolio of solutions for our customers both at the farm-gate and with end-use customers. 

  Licence to Omega-3 assets

Nufarm is a global leader in the transformation of key crops for plant-based human nutrition. With today’s announcement Nufarm extends that leadership with the signing of a licence to certain omega-3 intellectual property assets, materials and know-how for producing oil in camelina. Under the agreement, Nufarm will pay Yield10 up to USD $5 million. The agreement provides Nufarm with a combination of exclusive and non-exclusive global rights to certain omega-3 traits in camelina that enable production of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and/or eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and to certain herbicide tolerant traits.

Nufarm rationale

Nufarm’s Omega-3 Canola was the first commercial plant-based source of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, with the oil from this novel crop currently sold as Aquaterra® and Nutriterra®. Currently, the primary source of EPA and DHA remains ocean-caught fish. Growing demand for omega-3 is expected to put increasing pressure on this finite supply. The development of plant-based sources of omega-3 can provide a sustainable and reliable alternative resource.

Yield10’s Camelina platform fits strategically with Nufarm’s Omega-3 platform providing EPA and DHA profiles and herbicide tolerance traits that are complementary to those present in Nufarm’s Omega-3 Canola. The potential to grow camelina as a winter cover crop also expands the possible growing period and regions for plant based omega-3. Potential applications include nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals and aquafeed.

Nufarm intends to continue the further development, regulatory approvals and commercialisation of Omega-3 Camelina with a focus on the development of winter varieties that can be grown as a cover crop, potentially providing another valuable source of income to farms, opening large accessible acres for expansion and contributing to lower-carbon sustainability objectives.

Acquisition of remaining assets

Nufarm also has interest in the further development and application of Yield10’s winter camelina as a cover crop into the bioenergy sector in combination with further improved stacks of herbicide, oil and meal improvement traits.

In addition to the licence agreement, Yield10 and Nufarm have agreed to immediately begin negotiating Nufarm’s purchase of substantially all of Yield10’s assets including ownership of Yield10’s camelina assets in both the omega-3 sector (that would enable Nufarm to buy out its licence from Yield10) and the bioenergy sector (subject to an existing licence granted to a third party). Yield10 shareholders would need to approve any asset purchase.