Evolva Holding SA, an international, innovative synthetic biology company with a world-class research platform recently announced its plans to acquire its San Francisco-based R&D partner Abunda Nutrition. Evolva and Abunda have collaborated on the development of Abunda’s next-generation nutritional ingredients since 2009.

One part of this collaboration has focused on advancing highly purified forms of the natural high intensity sweetener Stevia, produced via fermentation in yeast. In addition to Stevia, Evolva will obtain full ownership of certain additional development-stage compounds with relevance in cardiovascular health and other nutrition sectors. Clinical nutrition trials are being conducted on selected compounds.

Under the terms of the proposed merger, Evolva will acquire 100  per cent of the share capital of Abunda in return for 25 million Evolva shares (12.9 per cent of Evolva’s share capital post transaction, fully diluted). If certain value-creating milestones are achieved in the 19 months after closing, Abunda shareholders are entitled to receive up to an additional 12 million shares and, for three years afterward, a low-teen percentage share of cash returns from the Abunda assets.

This process bypasses the complex logistics associated with the traditional cultivation, processing and refining of Stevia plants, and allows pure Stevia components to be produced. Abunda brings sufficient cash for the development its product portfolio through year-end 2012, and as such the transaction does not affect Evolva’s cash runway. The intended transaction would increase Evolva’s expected cash outflow in 2011 from CHF 20m to CHF 22m (2010: CHF 18.1m).

The terms of the transaction have been approved by the Boards of both companies. The transaction is subject to approval of the required capital increase by Evolva’s shareholders and is expected to close in late Q2 or early Q3 2011.

The value of the global sweetener market is currently estimated at USD $70 billion, with sugar the dominant product. Within this market, Stevia-based sweeteners are the fastest growing segment, with demand driven in part because Stevia extracts have 200-300 times the sweetness of sugar, but also because of increasing consumer demand for low-carbohydrate-low-sugar for health, wellness, and performance products. By enabling the introduction of new sweetener products with compelling health, taste and other benefits for consumers, fermentation-derived Stevia can potentially take an important part of the overall sweetener market.