BioAmber Closes $30 Million Financing with LANXESS and Existing Investors

BioAmber Inc. has completed its Series C round of financing with net proceeds of $30 million. The financing was closed in two tranches; a first tranche of $20 million on November 4th, 2011 with existing investors Naxos Capital, Sofinnova Partners, Mitsui & Co. Ltd. and the Cliffton Group, and a second tranche of $10 million on February 6th, 2012 with specialty chemicals company LANXESS. All of BioAmber’s Series B investors participated in the Series C financing.

The investment by LANXESS is the culmination of a strategic collaboration in the field of renewable, phthalate-free plasticizers. BioAmber and LANXESS are jointly developing phthalate-free plasticizers and expect to begin sampling succinic-based plasticizers in 2012. The companies are also collaborating in Sarnia, Ontario, on the establishment of BioAmber’s first world-scale bio-succinic acid manufacturing facility.   LANXESS is owner of the site and will provide BioAmber with utilities and services needed to operate the facility.

Concurrent with the investment, LANXESS will be joining the BioAmber board of directors and has named Jorge Noguiera as its board representative. Jorge Nogueira is the Head of LANXESS’ Functional Chemicals business unit.    Mr. Nogueira has over 30 years of chemical industry experience, working for leading multinationals in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. “Our investment in BioAmber shows our commitment to launching a new generation of plasticizers that satisfy regulatory requirements and can also score in terms of sustainability,” said Mr. Nogueira.

“We are pleased to have LANXESS as a strategic investor alongside Naxos, Sofinnova, Mitsui & Co. and Cliffton,” said Jean-Francois Huc, BioAmber’s CEO. “BioAmber is fortunate to have a strong, committed group of investors and we welcome Jorge Nogueira, a dynamic and experienced chemical industry executive to our board”.

“LANXESS is actively engaged in leveraging its Sarnia site to establish the largest bio-industrial park in Canada, offering land, energy and infrastructure for the development of new bio-industrial chemicals,” said Sandy Marshall, President of LANXESS Canada. “We are excited to be working closely with BioAmber to anchor the Bio-industrial Park, and this investment is a natural extension of our collaboration,” added Mr. Marshall.

About BioAmber Inc.

BioAmber is a next generation chemicals company. Its proprietary technology platform combines industrial biotechnology, an innovative purification process and chemical catalysis to convert renewable feedstocks into chemicals for use in a wide variety of everyday products including plastics, food additives and personal care products. BioAmber produces bio-succinic acid in what it believes to be one of the world’s largest bio-based chemical manufacturing facilities. For more information visit the company’s web site at www.bio-amber.com.

About LANXESS

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 7.1 billion in 2010 and currently around 16,100 employees in 30 countries. The company is at present represented at 47 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals. LANXESS is a member of the leading sustainable indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) World and FTSE4Good.

Source:  http://www.bio-amber.com