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Chromatin, Inc., a Sorghum AgTech Company, Rakes in $70M
Chromatin, Inc., a Sorghum AgTech Company, Rakes in $70M

Chromatin, Inc., a Sorghum AgTech Company, Rakes in $70M

January 23, 2014

Sorghum just made a sweet deal.

Chromatin, Inc., a Chicago-based agtech company focused on sorghum production, recently closed its Series E round, bringing in $36 million. That brings their aggregate raising of $70 million in both public and private funds.

“As we explored opportunities to invest in the crop, we saw in Chromatin an opportunity to deploy our capital to return predictable and significant growth,” said Bob Saul, a Managing Director at Wood Creek Capital Management, which led the round. “We are impressed by the company’s trajectory, by its growing portfolio of high value intellectual property, and by its leadership team.”

Wood Creek is an investment advisor and affiliate of the MassMutual Life Insurance Company, though Chromatin says that it was Macquarie Capital that served as the exclusive financial advisor for the deal. Other private investors for Series E included GE Capital, Equity, and funds from previous investors: BP Alternative Energy, IllinoisVentures, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, and Adventures IV, LLC.

Sorghum’s properties make it seem like a great investment: it’s a rapidly maturing, high yielding, nutrient-efficient, temperature and drought tolerant grain. Not to mention, it’s really in demand. As the third largest cereal grain in the United States, sorghum use in the U.S. is at an all-time high, reported this year at 100 million bushels of sorghum for food, seed and industry, according to a USDA report.

“Crop stewardship is at the core of Chromatin’s values,” says the Chromatin website, “and the company is equally focused on using its technology to introduce sustainable, healthy agricultural practices while enhancing commercial value and quality of life.”

Many tout Sorghum to be a great solution for future global food, feed and biomass demand. Said to be a better biofuel, better feed, and even better sweetener, Sorghum is taking off for both sustainability enthusiasts and investors.

FEATURED PHOTO: Global Crop Diversity Trust, Flickr

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