Bunge, a New York-listed agribusiness and food company, has joined strategic peers in backing Solazyme’s $51.6m series D round revealed earlier in the month.
Solazyme uses bacteria fermentation to produce renewable oil that can be used for fuel, chemicals, food ingredients and soap from sugar, while Bunge is one of the world’s largest originators and distributors of vegetable oils and one of the largest sugarcane processing companies in Brazil. Jonathan Wolfson, chief executive and co-founder of Solazyme, said: "Solazyme’s technology sits right at the intersection of Bunge’s substantial access to sugarcane and its key position in the worldwide natural oils markets. This, along with their operational and logistical capabilities, makes Bunge an ideal strategic investor."
US investment bank Morgan Stanley and venture capital firm Braemar Energy Ventures co-led the D round.
Chevron Technology Ventures, the corporate venturing division of oil major Chevron, San-Ei Gen, a Japan-based manufacturer of food ingredients, and VCs Lightspeed Venture Partners, Roda Group, Harris and Harris Group, VantagePoint Venture Partners and Zygote Ventures also joined the round as repeat investors.
Founded in 2003, Solazyme previously raised $76m, including more than $57m in its series C round at which it said it had strategic investors but declined to reveal the names.
It agreed a research project with consumer goods maker Unilever last year which also gave Unilever an option to take a venturing stake in the company, a source said.