Japan-based plastic and paper substitute developer TBM received ¥2.06bn ($19.7m) in funding yesterday from a range of corporate investors.
Hair restoration and transplantation service group Aderans, home renovation product maker DCM Holdings, marketing agency Dentsu and cosmetics original design manufacturer Nihon Kolmar were among the participants in the round.
The round included textile machinery producer Shima Seiki, logistics firm Settsu Warehouse, drugstore operator Yakuodo, electronics product vendor Yodobashi Camera and Spotlight, a joint venture for broadcaster Nippon TV and marketing firm Hakuhodo Group’s Quantum subsidiary.
Founded in 2011, TBM is working on new materials made of inorganic substances that could potentially replace conventional options including plastic and paper. Its flagship product, Limex, is made from limestone and could reduce the use of resources such as petroleum, water and wood.
The funding will go toward business development, sales and marketing, in a bid to promote the company’s environmentally friendly materials and strengthening the recycling industry value chain.
TBM raised $13.8m in a March 2019 round featuring financial services firm SBI Group, speciality chemicals producer Sanyo Chemical Industries and JR East Start Up, a subsidiary of rail operator JR East, taking its overall funding to roughly $89.3m at the time.
Human resources firm DIP, diversified trader Itochu, printing services providers Dai Nippon Printing and Toppan, furniture producer France Bed Holdings and writing instrument maker Mitsubishi Pencil had backed a $27.5m round for the company in November 2018.
The November round included Shinsei Corporate Investment, a vehicle for financial services firm Shinsei Bank, and investment banking firm Goldman Sachs.
DIP and Itochu had injected an undisclosed amount in TBM three months earlier. Its earliest corporate funding was when financial services group UBS invested $13.3m in 2016 through its UBS Securities Japan and UBS AG Tokyo Branch subsidiaries.
The company had already closed four rounds from undisclosed investors in 2014: $2.9m in September, $3.2m in July, $885,000 in May and $2.2m in March.
