BioConsortia, Inc. – Preferred Stock Financing

BioConsortia Raises $12million to Accelerate Development of Multi-Microbe Products for Agriculture

November 7, 2016

BioConsortia, Inc., innovator of microbial solutions for natural plant trait enhancement and crop yield improvement, announced that it has raised this year a total of $12 million for future growth. Last week, BioConsortia closed an $8 million equity round of investment financed by existing investors, Khosla Ventures and Otter Capital, and earlier in the year raised $4 million of venture debt from Square 1 Bank, a division of Pacific Western Bank.

Experienced ag tech investors, Khosla Ventures and Otter Capital funded BioConsortia’s $15 million Series B round in early 2014,  enabling the move from New Zealand to the US, and establishing operations and headquarters in Davis, California. This move refocused the research on US microbes, seed genetics, more sustainable fertilizers and improved agronomic practices.

“We are thrilled with the commitment and support from our existing investors and Square 1 Bank. This is a busy time of year for all in the ag space with field trial data coming in.  Having funding in place early means that we can keep our foot on the accelerator and continue to expand our research capabilities, field trials program and the number of beneficial traits that we are moving down our pipeline,” says BioConsortia CEO, Marcus Meadows-Smith.

BioConsortia continues to exploit its revolutionary Advanced Microbial Selection® (AMS) process to discover advantageous microbial consortia treatments for biofertilizers and biostimulants. Recently the company launched several biopesticide projects to identify crucial microbial solutions to combat seed and soil-borne diseases and pests.

Following the addition of Dr. Hong Zhu from Bayer CropScience earlier this year, the company is also further expanding its formulation and fermentation team to work on products that meet the best standards for seed and soil-applied solutions. Construction on new lab space at the current R&D facilities is underway.

Building on 2016 field trials, BioConsortia will increase its program for 2017. Next year’s trials will include important traits for drought tolerance and fertilizer use efficiency on corn, soy, and wheat, as well as biopesticide trials for management of soil-borne diseases in select high-value vegetable crops and pests such as corn rootworm.

About Us

BioConsortia, Inc. is developing effective microbial solutions that enhance plant phenotypes and increase crop yields. We are pioneering the use of directed selection in identifying teams of microbes – working like plant breeders and selecting plants based on targeted characteristics, then isolating the associated microbial community. Our proprietary Advanced Microbial Selection® (AMS) process enriches the crop microbiome, allowing us to identify organisms that influence the expression of beneficial traits in plants. We are currently focused on products for fertilizer use efficiency, growth improvement and both abiotic tolerance and biotic resistance, as commercial seed treatments, liquid in-furrow products and granule products for a range of crops.

BioConsortia, Inc. – Preferred Stock Financing

BioConsortia Continues Growth and Success, Securing $10 million in Series D Funding

March 16, 2018

BioConsortia, Inc., innovator of microbial solutions for natural plant trait enhancement and yield improvement, has closed a further round of equity financing to support its continued growth, research achievements and development of superior products. The $10 million round was led by Otter Capital and contributed to by Khosla Ventures, both of which are long-term backers of the biotechnology company and experienced ag tech investors.

The completion of Series D will further support the increased momentum BioConsortia saw in 2017, with three strategic new hires, the addition of a sixth U.S. patent, and the planting of fall and winter field trials. Funds raised will be used for the commercial development of a number of novel microbial consortia products — focused toward corn, wheat, soy, tomatoes, and leafy veg.  BioConsortia will also continue to build upon its proprietary discovery process Advanced Microbial Selection (AMS) including supporting the expansion of the AMS platform itself, incorporating deeper and more specialized analytics. Collectively these steps will drive the company towards the establishment of an original and proven platform for the development of more efficacious and consistent microbial products for a wide range of agricultural crops.

“We are excited by the progress that we have made in product development, for both biostimulants and biopesticides, and the recognition from our investors.” says Marcus Meadows-Smith, CEO “This new funding allows us to increase our annual spend on R&D, adding more tools from genomics, microbiome and machine learning to our already powerful discovery platform.”

A portion of BioConsortia’s planned development has been and, will continue to be, driven by the key hires made last year: Drs. Jenna Lang and Steven Wu providing scientific leadership in Microbiome Ecology and Computational Biology, respectively. Microbiome analysis and computational modeling underpin BioConsortia’s AMS process. When combined with the extensive physiological data collected throughout the discovery program, microbiome insights enable identification of the functional microbes benefitting high-performing plants, either as individuals or as consortia.

“Collectively, Jenna and Steven have a tremendous wealth of experience and expertise.” says Dr. Sue Turner, Sr. VP of Research. “Throughout the AMS process we are capturing huge amounts of data; knowing how best to efficiently manipulate and analyze it is crucial for advancing leads and finding new, superior microbial solutions.”

In addition to adding big-data expertise to its research group, BioConsortia has been developing a strong fermentation team as it reaches the final steps in developing leads for commercial launch. Dr. Jorge Santiago-Ortiz joined the company as lead Fermentation Scientist early last year and has worked closely with Dr. Hong Zhu, Sr. VP Lead Development and Manufacturing, to lead scale-up and formulation experimentation in the newly built formulation facilities at the company’s Davis headquarters. The drive to commercialization is now underway as several microbial treatments transitioned from second and third year field trials across a range of crops and geographies last year. A select number were entered into repeat field trials by major industry players and these are moving forward to further testing and development. The early-stage biopesticide program also saw many remarkable successes in greenhouse and field trials, and so will be expanded onto many more crops in 2018.

“The expertise that we have added really reflects the comprehensive nature of our discovery and development platform,” says Dr. Zhu. “It has set us up for success as we ramp up our 2018 R&D program and move ever closer to product launch.”

About Us

BioConsortia, Inc. is developing effective microbial solutions that enhance plant phenotypes and increase crop yields. We are pioneering the use of directed selection in identifying teams of microbes – working like plant breeders and selecting plants based on targeted characteristics, then isolating the associated microbial community. Our proprietary Advanced Microbial Selection (AMS) process enriches the crop microbiome, allowing us to identify organisms that influence the expression of beneficial traits in plants. We are currently focused on products for fertilizer use efficiency, growth improvement and both abiotic tolerance and biotic resistance, as commercial seed treatments, liquid in-furrow products, and granule products for a range of crops.

Convertible Debt Financing for Liquid Biopsy Biotech Company

• Corporate counsel to liquid biopsy biotech company
• Structured extension of seed funding from insider investors
• Facilitated rapid closing to fund immediate working capital needs
• Coordinated corporate approvals and navigated interested party considerations
• Analyzed financing and equity dilution scenarios as well as financial modeling

Series Seed Preferred Stock Financing for Therapeutic Biotech Company

• Corporate counsel to therapeutic biotech company spun out from UCSD
• Finalized out-license of patented technology from UCSD
• Negotiated and closed financing with a strategic corporate investor
• Navigated vital issues relating to the timing of approvals from corporate parent and foreign regulatory agency
• Structured transaction to align with NVCA Preferred Stock financing terms with detailed representation and warranties and extensive disclosure schedules.

FusionX Ventures

San Diego-based venture and private equity investor.

Investor-side VC and PE Representation

Counsel to FusionX Ventures as lead investor in the preferred stock financing of TruMed Systems, Inc., as well as other portfolio company investments and various corporate matters.

Radicle Growth Ventures

Early-stage sustainable food & ag tech venture fund.

Investor-side VC and PE Representation

Counsel to Radicle Growth Ventures in connection with various convertible note, seed equity and other financings across several portfolio companies.

Tenacious Ventures

Australian Climate and Ag-tech venture fund.

Investor-side VC and PE Representation

Counsel to Tenacious Ventures in connection with its US venture investments, including portfolio companies Nowadays and Cecil Earth.

VoLo Earth Ventures

Venture fund accelerating the new energy economy

Investor-side VC and PE Representation

Counsel to leading climate technology investor VoLo Earth Ventures as lead investor in various portfolio company investments, including AiCrete, Inc., Banyan Infrastructure, Inc., BlocPower Public Benefit Corp., Blue Frontier, Inc., Daanaa Resolution, Inc., Gaiascope, Inc., Heimdal Inc., Ion Storage Systems, Inc., Pearl Street Technologies, Inc., Pronoia Energy, Sepion Technologies, Inc., Shimmer Industries, Skyven Technologies, Inc., Texpower EV Technologies, Traxen, Inc., and Veckta Corporation, and ongoing potential investments.

Counsel to Go Green Agriculture, Inc. in its $15M Preferred Stock Financing

• Counsel to Go Green Agriculture, Inc. in connection with its $15M Preferred Stock financing

Nucleus Biologics, LLC

• Assisted Nucleus Biologics with various debt and equity financings to fuel its growth and development
• Negotiated term sheets and deal documents
• Coordinated due diligence with investors, their counsel and business teams
• Facilitated rapid closings to fund working capital needs

Stoic Bio, Inc.

• Assisted Stoic Bio with various equity rounds to fuel its research and development
• Negotiated term sheets and deal documents
• Coordinated due diligence with investors
• Facilitated rapid closings to fund working capital needs

Onramp Invest, Inc.

• Counsel to Onramp Invest in connection with various seed equity financings for growth and development
• Negotiated term sheets and deal documents
• Coordinated due diligence with investors, their counsel and business teams
• Prepared complex financing models
• Facilitated rapid closings to fund working capital needs

Counsel to FMG Suite, LLC in its acquisition of Twenty Over Ten

• Counsel to FMG Suite in connection with its acquisition of Twenty Over Ten for an undisclosed amount.

Read the Press Release Here

FMG Suite Announces Acquisition Of Twenty Over Ten

Counsel to Wheat Creative, LLC in its sale to Scorpion Enterprises, LLC

• Counsel to Wheat Creative, LLC in connection with its sale to Scorpion Enterprises, LLC for an undisclosed amount.

“My wife and I recently experienced our first M&A transaction as the business we built over the last 8 years was acquired. Needless to say, we were protective and didn’t know what we didn’t know, and that’s where Matt and California Counsel Group came into the picture. He made us feel extremely confident from our first conversation through the signing of the final paperwork. He brought many talking points to the table and suggested contract tweaks that made us much more comfortable with the entire process. We could tell our best interest was always his focus, and he went above and beyond to make sure we understood every piece of the deal – good and bad. I’d recommend Matt and the team at CCG for any legal business transaction.”

– Justin Baloun, CEO, Wheat Creative, LLC

Read Press Release Here

Scorpion Completes Acquisition Of Leading Franchise Marketing Agency Wheat Creative

Strategic Deal Further Cements Scorpion As The Premier Provider of Growth-Focused Marketing Solutions For Franchises

SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Scorpion, a leading provider of technology and services helping local businesses thrive, today announced its completed acquisition of Wheat Creative, a leading franchise marketing agency with extensive experience in franchise growth and development solutions. The acquisition further strengthens Scorpion’s existing business with increased expertise and capabilities that enable significant franchise expansion, as well as corporate and local marketing.

The strategic acquisition of Wheat Creative will give Scorpion franchise customers powerful business development capabilities and the ability to attract new franchisees, generating greater growth opportunities and fostering strong local relationships for each franchise location. With the integration of the Wheat Creative team, including CEO & Co-Founder Justin Baloun, who take on a leadership role with Scorpion’s Franchise division, Scorpion will offer the most comprehensive suite of solutions for Franchise and multi-location brands. The franchise-focus expands franchisor capabilities to Scorpion’s existing franchisee capabilities; the technology solution can now source and strengthen a franchisor’s business strategy, while also servicing each franchisee’s branding needs to ensure success.

“Scorpion’s acquisition of Wheat Creative advances our franchise development focus, an area we are excited to strengthen, as it will bring our franchise customers corporate and local marketing expertise to ensure they grow, while maintaining their competitive edge,” said Scorpion’s Executive Vice President of M&A and Operations Azim Nagree. “Wheat Creative’s exceptional capabilities will provide a lasting, positive impact on our customers’ ability to grow while doing what they do best: serving their local communities.”

“We are delighted to join forces with Scorpion and continue our work creating meaningful and impactful client results,” explained Justin Baloun, CEO and Co-Founder of Wheat Creative. “It is an honor to join the Scorpion team, which shares with Wheat Creative a passion for client-focused dedication and success.”

About Scorpion
Scorpion is the leading provider of technology and services helping local businesses thrive. It helps local service providers understand their unique market dynamics, maximize their marketing efforts, and delight their customers. Scorpion offers SEO, Reviews, Advertising, Email Marketing, Chat and Messaging, Social Media, Websites, Lead Management, Appointment Scheduling, and more. The company brings everything together in a way that’s easy to understand and manage, blending AI and teams of real people with vertical expertise to support customers in setting, measuring, and reaching their goals.

Scorpion is Headquartered in the Salt Lake City area, with offices in California, Texas, and New York. For more information, please visit https://www.scorpion.co/about-us/.

Media Contact
scorpion@sparkpr.com

SOURCE Scorpion

Related Links

https://www.scorpion.co/about-us/

Sale of Soft-Pak Software Solutions

“When looking to sell my business, I was told good legal representation was critical and you need to find an individual who fit your personality. I interviewed seven transactional attorneys’ throughout Southern California, from large corporate practices to smaller specialized offices. I decided to work with California Counsel Group (CCG) and Matt Steiner.

I worked closely with Matt and Jamie Norrdin as they were my primary counsel when selling to a large public company (Dover Corp.) in early 2020. CCG provided expert advice and assistance at all stages of the transaction, from LOI to purchase agreement to closing. CCG also helped us navigate the due diligence process, which was comprehensive and covered virtually all aspects of our business in great detail.

CCG was a true partner and a strategic asset throughout the transaction. Despite having a large legal practice with multiple resources assisting the buyer, the team at CCG kept pace throughout the process. Matt and Jamie effectivity communicated the fine legal points into understandable business language. They both understood the sensitivity and stress when dealing with a founder who has deep concerns about his employees and customers.

The team at CCG worked diligently, including holidays and weekends, over several months to keep momentum and ensure a successful closing.  I would recommend CCG to other business owners that are looking for M&A expertise outside the big firm fluff.”

– Brian Porter, President – Soft-Pak