February 3, 2021

photo credit: AppHarvest

By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media

Plans for this merger were originally announced in September 2020 as AppHarvest launched its 2.76 million-square-foot controlled environment agriculture facility in Eastern Kentucky – a region where unemployment exceeds the national average by 44 percent – and where AppHarvest is working to develop into a U.S. agtech hub.

Now, just as the startup announces that it has begun shipping tomatoes from its first harvest, the merger with Novus Capital is complete, with the new company, which will remain named AppHarvest, trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol APPH.

Within days of trading, shares in AppHarvest soared 44 percent.

From its location in Central Appalachia, AppHarvest’s 60-acre CEA facility (one of the largest in the world) is within less than a day’s drive to 70 percent of the entire U.S. population, lowering diesel fuel costs by 80 percent. The company’s tech-driven indoor farms grow high-quality produce using methods that use 90 percent less water than traditional field production (and 100 percent recycled rainwater), giving its non-GMO, chemical-free fruits and vegetables a competitive advantage against low-cost foreign imports.

This merger with Novus Capital will advance AppHarvest’s mission to reinvent agriculture in the U.S., and to build out an agtech hub in Appalachia through the development of several large-scale controlled environment facilities.

The business combination values AppHarvest at $1 billion, and will provide $475 million to the company, including $375 million fully committed common stock PIPE at $10 per share anchored by existing and new investors Fidelity Management & Research Company, Inclusive Capital, and Novus Capital Corporation, and others.

“Our investment platform is about leveraging capitalism and governance in pursuit of a healthy planet and the health of its inhabitants — and AppHarvest is perfectly aligned with this mission,” said Jeffrey Ubben, founder and managing partner, Inclusive Capital Partners, and board member, AppHarvest in September 2020. 

“We are excited to transition AppHarvest to a public company and raise nearly a half a billion dollars in the process,” said Jonathan Webb, founder & CEO, AppHarvest in September 2020, who will continue to head up the newly-merged company. “This will allow us to pursue our mission of transforming agriculture. A mission that’s become even more important since the global pandemic exposed how a rapidly increasing reliance on imports jeopardizes food security.”

Upon completion of the merger, Webb noted, “Today marks an important milestone for AppHarvest and for American agriculture as we drive the next chapter of our growth as a public company,” said Webb. “The capital we raised in this transaction will further advance our mission of transforming agriculture by developing large-scale sustainable food production in the heart of Central Appalachia.We currently import nearly half of all fresh vine crops sold in the U.S. To create a more resilient food system, we must farm more efficiently and closer to where the food is needed.”

David Lee, former CFO and COO at Impossible Foods who joined AppHarvest on January 25 in the role of president added, “In a marketplace where consumers are more knowledgeable and conscientious than ever about the food they buy, we have a tremendous opportunity at AppHarvest to build a trustworthy sustainable foods brand that people care about,” said AppHarvest President David Lee. “Customers are craving better quality food options—and ones they can feel better about because the company is socially conscious and environmentally responsible…”

– Lynda Kiernan is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, and HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She is also a contributor to the GAI Gazette. She can be reached at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.