Brief: Local Bounti completes $1.1bn SPAC merger to become latest listed CEA company

• US indoor farming company Local Bounti has completed its merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Leo Holdings III Corp, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
• As a result of the deal, which completed November 22, Leo was renamed Local Bounti and switched to trading under the ticker symbol ‘LOCL.’
• The company’s stock opened on $9.81 per share and reached a daily high of $10.31, before closing the day at $9.91.

Why it matters:

Since the start of 2020, several SPAC deals have been announced aimed at taking controlled environment ag (CEA) companies public; but the early results have been mixed.

Newark-based vertical farm operator AeroFarms and SPAC Spring Valley terminated their $1.2 billion merger last month, with the former’s co-founder and CEO David Rosenberg saying both sides agreed that “proceeding with this transaction is not in the best interests of our shareholders.”

2021 started out as year of the ag SPAC. How’s that going? Read more here

Greenhouse operator AppHarvest, which merged with Nasdaq-listed Novus Capital in February, saw its share price nosedive -29% in August after slashing revenue targets it had set at the time of its SPAC deal [disclosure: AFN‘s parent company AgFunder is an investor in Root AI, which was acquired by AppHarvest.]

Local Bounti runs an “advanced indoor growing facility” in Hamilton, Montana. It claims its produce reaches shelves “in record time post-harvest” due to its facility’s proximity to retail partners, and uses 90% less land and water compared to open field farming.