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Vive Crop Protection (“Vive”) has announced the completion of $26 million in equity and debt financing. An offering of Series C Shares was led by Emmertech, joined by the Cibus funds and existing shareholders including Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Export Development Canada (EDC), and Urbana Corporation. Vive has also secured debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) to provide both working and growth capital.
Vive will have a second close in the next quarter to accommodate top-tier investor groups still completing diligence – all strategically focused on next-generation agriculture technology.
Vive will leverage its newest funding to accelerate the commercial deployment of its next-generation product portfolio into new North American markets while advancing its research and development pipeline. Vive’s proprietary Allosperse® technology is a nanoscale, polymer-based delivery system that allows previously incompatible active ingredients and fertilizers to be mixed and applied in one application. For farmers, this translates into reduced fuel, time, and water usage.
“Funding from Emmertech, the Cibus Fund, existing investors, and Silicon Valley Bank underscores our success in delivering innovative solutions to farmers,” says Darren Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of Vive Crop Protection.
“Since 2018, our products are estimated to have saved farmers 34 million gallons of water, 189,000 gallons of fuel, and 15,000 hours of farm labor,” adds Anderson. “In addition, feedback from our annual customer satisfaction survey has been overwhelmingly positive with 97% of respondents indicating their desire to re-use Vive products.”
In the last 18 months, Vive has experienced rapid growth, which is evident in new product registrations, and increases in customer base, employment roster, and revenue, which has more than doubled from sales of its seven EPA-registered products.
Kyle Scott, Managing Director of Conexus Venture Capital & Emmertech, says, “We are thrilled about our alignment with Vive given their success to date, and the trust they’ve built among farmers with solutions that are efficient, sustainable, and profitable. We look forward to supporting Vive with their R&D infrastructure and entrance into global markets.” Vive is also pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Scott to its Board of Directors.
Alastair Cooper, Head of Venture Investments at the Cibus Fund, says, “Our investment underlines our commitment to companies like Vive that place innovation at the core of their business model. As agriculture continues to embrace new technology, we believe Vive products will become increasingly important for maximizing on-farm efficiency and sustainability.”
Fort Capital Partners acted as financial advisors, with Osler acting as legal counsel, to Vive on the Series C financing.