Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever has converted its option in Solazyme into a strategic investment in the renewable oil company.
Unilever has joined Solazyme’s extended series D round to a reported $60m, which last month saw Bunge, a New York-listed agribusiness and food company, and other strategic peers invest $51.6m in Solazyme.
The other strategic investors are CTTV Investments, the venture capital arm of oil major Chevron; San-Ei Gen, a Japan-based manufacturer and distributor of food ingredients; Jay Precourt and his family; and Sir Richard Branson via the Roda Group.Sir Richard’s investment was a personal one and separate to his company, Virgin Group’s, investments through the Virgin Green Fund in clean-tech.
Braemer Energy Ventures and Morgan Stanley led the round, with all major existing venture capital investors from previous rounds participating, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Roda Group, Harris and Harris Group, VantagePoint Venture Partners and Zygote Ventures.
Unilever has an existing research and development agreement with Solazyme for its renewable oils and has successfully tested them in its personal care and nutritionals products.
Phil Giesler, innovation director at Unilever Corporate Ventures, the company’s direct investment division, said: "Solazyme is clearly a leading company in the biomaterials space. Unilever has been working closely together with Solazyme for two years now and this investment will help us to broaden our partnership in new application areas. It will also help us to plan for how future developments in Solazyme’s technology platform will contribute to Unilever’s supply options and assist us in our sustainability vision."