Israeli-based Meat-Tech 3D to acquire a cultured fats producer

Meat-Tech 3D, which is engaged in cultivating meat production technologies based on advanced 3D bioprinting, revealed plans to acquire 100% of an undisclosed developer of cultured fat products, in a deal worth about $17.5 million.

The Israeli company has signed a letter of intent to acquire 100% of the cultured fat producer through a combination of cash and equity deal, part of which will be based on milestones.

The company to be acquired is said to have developed a stem-cell-based technology to produce fats from cattle, chickens, geese, and other animals. The fats are claimed to be produced in a bioreactor without causing harm to any animals.

Steve H. Lavin – Chairman of Meat-Tech Board of Directors said: “Cultured fats are a promising candidate to be amongst the first cell-based products to be launched at scale.”

Meat-Tech said that it expects the acquisition to enable it in growing its clean meat offerings, speed up capability development, and reduce times to market.

The deal will be subject to the completion of a due diligence process and the signing of a final agreement.

Sharon Fima – CEO and CTO of Meat-Tech said: “We expect the cultured fat technology to offer significant R&D synergies and help us realize our vision of development and production of a variety of cell-based foods using more sustainable production technologies. We hope to collaborate with new team members very soon.”

Meat-Tech further said that it anticipates the acquisition of the cultured fats producer to open additional market opportunities by making use of the ability to combine cultured fats with plant proteins, thereby giving a more ‘real’ meat flavor and texture to plant-based foods. The Israeli meat tech company added there is an increasing expectation for such “hybrid” products, incorporating plant components and animal cell-based ingredients to develop into a significant market similar to the present plant-based alternative meat products.