St. Louis agtech firm Benson Hill said Monday it plans to purchase an Indiana soybean crushing facility as part of its ongoing strategy to strengthen its position in the fast-growing plant-based foods market.
Benson Hill has agreed to acquire the soybean processing facility from Seymour, Indiana-based Rose Acre Farms. Financial terms of the deal, which is anticipated to close this month, were not disclosed. Benson Hill said it will finance its purchase by expanding its debt facility with Western Technology Investment.
“This milestone reflects continued momentum to advance our vision for a more modern, resilient and sustainable food system, starting with seed that is better from the beginning,” said Matt Crisp, co-founder and CEO of Benson Hill. “Coupling production capacity like this with genomic innovation unlocks enormous value for both farmers and consumers beyond what has been possible through the traditional commodity system."
Founded in 2012, Benson Hill, which describes itself as a "food tech company," has developed its CropOS technology that uses data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning to help improve crop varieties with better accuracy, nutritional value and sustainability than traditional breeding methods. The company is set to go public through a merger with Evanston, Illinois-based publicly traded special purpose acquisition company Star Peak Corp II (NYSE: STPC). That deal is expected to be approved by shareholders later this month.
Benson Hill’s decision to purchase Rose Acre’s facility builds upon an existing relationship between the two agriculture companies. In December, Benson Hill and Rose Acre announced they had inked a partnership to develop a soybean processing facility located closer to grower partners, minimizing the cost and carbon footprint of transportation, while improving Benson Hill's capacity to increase future contract acres in that area of Indiana. By acquiring the facility, Benson Hill says it will have the needed capacity to process its soybean varieties and produce soy protein and oil ingredients. Benson Hill said the crushing facility will continue serving its existing customers.
"The acquisition of the Rose Acre Farms soybean crushing facility represents an important next step in the execution of our playbook for growth," Bruce Bennett, president of ingredients at Benson Hill, said in a statement. "This targeted investment can ultimately provide the production capacity to deliver on our integrated business model for commercialization and scaling of our innovative soybean products, including Ultra-High Protein soybean ingredients.”
Benson Hill’s focus on soybean production is a key component of its development of plant-based protein ingredients. In March, it announced the launch of the ingredients business segment, which is targeting development of new varieties of the yellow pea as well as production and commercialization of its proprietary soybean varieties. Benson Hill said last month it has set up a yellow pea breading station in Minot, North Dakota, near its subsidiary Dakota Ingredients, a yellow pea processing firm acquired recently by Benson Hill. In addition to ramping up its processing capabilities, Benson Hill has also increased its soybean planting acreage, saying earlier this year it has contracted 70,000 acres in the 2021 crop year to grow its soybean varieties, up from 30,000 acres in the 2020 season.
For the quarter ended June 30, Benson Hill had $39.7 million in revenue. The company said its revenue was up 28% year over year and included $22.7 million in revenue for its ingredients division and $16.9 million for its fresh segment, which focuses on commercializing healthier fresh produce. Benson Hill reported its net loss for the quarter was $27.4 million, up from $12.7 million a year ago.
