US - FLORIDA: Orlando Vertical Farming Firm Kalera Eyes Funding Deal To Fuel More Growth
Staff Writer, Orlando Business Journal
Oct 23, 2020
Like The Produce It Grows, Kalera Inc.’s
Growth Trajectory Is Going Vertical.
The Orlando-based vertical farming company is working with Oslo-based investment firms ABG Sundal Collier and Artic Securities AS to complete a private offering of company stock that would raise Kalera up to $100 million. That money would be used to accelerate the growth of Kalera, which has recently expanded its local workforce and entered new markets.
Corporate growth
Kalera plans to list up to 31 million shares on the Merkur Market, a trading platform for small and medium companies that’s part of the Oslo Stock Exchange. The first day of trading is anticipated to be Oct. 28, the company announced Oct. 21. The deal is a private placement, a sale of shares to pre-selected investors and firms.
Kalera will use the funds to build new vertical farming facilities in both the U.S. and abroad. The firm operates two indoor growing facilities in Orlando, and Kalera expects to grow its corporate workforce in Orlando, CEO Daniel Malechuk told Orlando Business Journal.
To see inside Kalera's HyCube in Orlando, check out the slideshow above.
"Our Orlando [growing] facilities are fully-staffed and hired out,” Malechuk said. “Our corporate office is where we’re going to see a lot of growth.”
Companies may raise capital through a private placement deal in order to fund operations and planned growth, Michael Okaty, an Orlando-based business attorney and partner at Foley & Lardner LLP, told OBJ. Companies using a private placement deal to raise money face less regulatory scrutiny than an initial public offering (IPO), when stocks are offered on an open market, Okaty added.
Aggressive expansion
This is another step in Kalera’s rapid expansion since it was founded in 2010. The company’s vertical agriculture facilities grow quality-controlled produce year-round. Kalera in 2021 will open its newest facility, a roughly 75,000-square-foot building in Denver, and expand the company’s reach to four U.S. markets. The company employs about 75 people, mostly in Central Florida, but will grow its workforce to more than 300 companywide by the end of next year, Malechuk said.
Many of Kalera’s customers, such as restaurants, hotels and Universal Orlando Resort, have seen a drop in business due to the pandemic. Still, Kalera was helped by striking a partnership with Publix Supermarkets Inc. earlier this year. Plus, it’s targeting new customers, such as school systems, Malechuk added.
The global vertical farming industry has big potential, and it’s expected to be worth nearly $12.77 billion by 2026, according to industry analysis site Report Buyer. Plus, the food grown this way is less susceptible to bacteria and disease, and it boasts a longer shelf life, Malechuk previously said.
Kalera anticipates to soon take on more growth in Orlando, across the U.S. and internationally, Malechuk said. “We’ve got a lot more aggressively coming.”