Large-scale vertical farming company AeroFarms announced today it will go public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. Once the deal goes through, AeroFarms will become publicly traded on the Nasdaq under the ARFM ticker symbol. The combined company is expected to have an estimated equity value of about $1.2 billion.
Certified B Corporation AeroFarms also noted that the deal will help to fund things like expanding retail distribution, constructing additional farms, and further developing the technology that powers the company’s growing operations.
Headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, AeroFarms grows leafy greens via indoor vertical farms that rely on LED light recipes, hydroponics, and software to grow plants. The company, which has raised $238 million to date, currently distributes products in the New York Metro Area as well as online via Whole Foods, FreshDirect, AmazonFresh, and Shop Rite.
The announcement comes not long after another controlled-environment agriculture company, AppHarvest, also went public via SPAC earlier this year. AppHarvest (also a Certified B Corp) completed a merger with Novus Capital Corp. and began trading on the Nasdaq on February 1. Its high-tech greenhouse model differs considerably from AeroFarms in terms of both the facility and the crops, but the end goal is similar — get pesticide-free, more locally grown produce to more people.
IPOs aside, it has been a busy month for the indoor farming space, with vertical farms Plenty and Bowery both expanding their retail footprint, Sweden’s Grönska raising $2.4 million, and Bablyon Microfarms closing a $3 million seed round.
AeroFarms said today that the merger has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both it and Spring Valley, and now just needs the approval of Spring Valley shareholders.
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