WILMINGTON, Del. — TerraVia Holdings, Inc., which produces oils, specialty fats and powdered ingredients from microalgae, has selected a stalking horse bid made by Corbion nv, according to a Sept. 12 filing in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The court has scheduled a Sept. 15 hearing to consider the transaction’s approval.
Amsterdam-based Corbion bid $20 million in cash plus the assumption of certain liabilities. The acquisition of the microalgae platform of San Francisco-based TerraVia would extend Corbion’s portfolio into algae-based fatty acids and proteins while leveraging Corbion’s fermentation and downstream processing capabilities, Corbion said when announcing its bid Aug. 2. TerraVia operates a research and development center in San Francisco and two manufacturing facilities: one in Peoria, Illinois, and one in Brazil that is part of a joint venture with Bunge.
TerraVia selected an alternate bid submitted by Lawrence Johnson, a representative of the Salim Group, for $3.25 million for the Peoria facility, according to the Sept. 12 court filing. TerraVia also selected an alternate bid submitted by TCP Algenist L.L.C. for $900,000 for the Algenist Equity. Two alternate bids from Gruener Ventures were selected, one for $3.2 million for IP assets and one for $875,000 for the purchase of Algenist Equity.
In a bankruptcy filing, TerraVia listed total assets of $118,383,000 and total debts of $184,081,000 as of March 31.
