Amyris, Inc., a synthetic biotechnology company active in the Clean Health and Beauty markets through its consumer brands and a top supplier of sustainable and natural ingredients, has announced that it has signed an agreement with Ingredion Incorporated, a global ingredient solutions provider to the food and beverage industry, for the exclusive licensing of Amyris’s zero-calorie, nature-based, fermented Reb M sweetener. In addition, the agreement includes an Ingredion minority ownership stake in the Amyris Brazilian manufacturing facility that is currently under construction.

• The combination of Amyris’s leading synthetic biology technology platform to develop, scale and produce fermentation-based products with Ingredion’s global market and customer reach, formulation capabilities and commercial teams will accelerate the availability and adoption of zero-calorie, nature-based sweeteners and other clean labeled fermentation-based food ingredients to the world’s leading food and beverage companies.
• Ingredion, via its PureCircle subsidiary, will become the exclusive global business-to-business commercialization partner for Amyris’s sugar reduction technology that includes fermented Reb M.
• The parties will enter into an R&D collaboration agreement to create and advance the development of sustainably sourced, zero-calorie, nature-based sweeteners and potentially other types of fermentation-based food ingredients.
• Ingredion will become a minority partner in the Amyris Brazilian manufacturing facility that is currently under construction.
• Amyris will continue to own and market its Purecane consumer brand offering of tabletop and culinary sweetener products.

The transaction value is estimated to be $100 million. This includes $75 million for the exclusive license to sell and market Reb M from fermentation plus a contribution for a participation in the Brazil manufacturing joint venture. Additionally, Amyris will earn a profit share from Reb M sales.

“We are excited by the addition of this breakthrough ingredient to our sugar reduction portfolio, which complements our PureCircle stevia product line and will allow us to provide our customers with the broadest selection of nature-based, high-intensity sweeteners on the market,” said Jim Zallie, Ingredion’s president and chief executive officer. “Our partnership with Amyris positions Ingredion well to meet our customers’ increasing demand for quality ingredients that will drive transformational change in the food industry.”

“We are very much looking forward to this new partnership. Ingredion’s sales channel, global reach and commercial capabilities will complement our leadership in developing, scaling and producing some of the best clean, sustainable molecules in the world,” said John Melo, president and chief executive officer of Amyris. “Our business model is delivering on the promise of synthetic biology; ingredients, such as Reb M from fermentation, create significant value and enable us to support the continued growth in our consumer business while maintaining our sector leadership in the supply of natural, sustainably sourced, ingredients.”

The parties expect to close the transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, in the second quarter.