AeroFarms to go public in merger with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp.
Founded in 2004, AeroFarms uses its proprietary data science-driven technology to address the $1.9 trillion total addressable market opportunity of leafy greens with a sustainable indoor growing solution which uses less resources than traditional field growing methods, said co-founder and CEO David Rosenberg.
"Our technology empowers our operations – this is how we get closer to where the problems, opportunities and solutions are. We also have the capabilities to innovate fast by turning our crops a typical 26 times per year that allows us to continuously learn and improve yield and quality while simultaneously reducing capital and operating costs," said Rosenberg.
AeroFarms claims it can achieve up to 390 times greater productivity per square foot annually versus traditional field farming while using up to 95% less water and zero pesticides.
"Our business is at an inflection point where we will scale up our proven operational framework and begin our expansion plans in earnest," noted Rosenberg.
Sold under the 'Dream Greens' brand available at major retailers including Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh, AeroFarms has grown over 550 varieties of produce to date, and is a key player in the $3bn global vertical farming market, which is projected to reach $10.4bn in value by 2027, according to a ResearchandMarkets report.
"AeroFarms has a technological edge on the industry, developing a world-class innovation team that has fueled a robust and growing intellectual property portfolio of patents and trade secrets. Moreover, their team has been selling commercial product with major retailers, building a trusted brand that is performing well, and developing influential partnerships that will enhance their ability to scale this business quickly. The future is very bright for AeroFarms," said Chris Sorrells, CEO of Spring Valley.
The business combination is expected to fully fund the equity needs of AeroFarms’ growth strategy, including expanding retail distribution and market penetration, constructing additional farms, introducing future generations of proprietary farming technology and entering new product categories.
Following the expected second quarter 2021 transaction close, the combined company is expected to have an estimated equity value of $1.2bn and will be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “ARFM.”
