Business
Burcon JV Company, Merit Functional Foods, Partners with Bunge to Bring Pea and Canola Protein to Market
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 27, 2020) -  Burcon NutraScience Co...
About this update from Burcon Nutrascience Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"Burcon JV Company, Merit Functional Foods, Partners with Bunge to Bring Pea and Canola Protein to MarketVancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 27, 2020) -  Burcon NutraScience Corporation (TSX: BU) (OTCQB: BUROF) (\"Burcon\"), a global technology leader in the development of plant-based proteins, is pleased to announce that its joint venture company, Merit Functional Foods Corporation (\"Merit Foods\" or \"Merit\") has received a $30 million investment from a new equity partner, Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) (\"Bunge\"), a leading international agribusiness and food company. The partnership will expedite Merit's construction of its state-of-the-art plant-based protein production facility in Manitoba, Canada, where it will produce, under license, Burcon's novel pea and canola protein ingredients. It will be the only commercial-scale facility capable of producing food-grade canola protein in the world. Construction is well underway, and the plant is on track to be fully operational by December 2020.In addition to purchasing equity directly from Merit, Bunge purchased additional shares and debt from existing Merit shareholders who are Burcon's joint venture partners. As a result of these transactions, Bunge is a 25% shareholder in Merit, and Burcon is now Merit Foods largest shareholder owning 33.3% of the plant-based protein producer.\"Burcon is thrilled to have Bunge as an equity partner in Merit Foods,\" said Johann F. Tergesen, Burcon's president and chief executive officer, adding: \"This secures the future for Merit, which will benefit greatly from Bunge's large canola origination footprint and multinational platform. With this transaction, Burcon is aligned with a leader in the global food ingredients industry, expanding Merit's reach to new customers and consumers in Canada, North America and worldwide.\" The demand for plant-based foods and beverages including dairy and meat alternatives is rapidly increasing. Merit's product portfolio of pea and canola protein ingredients supports the growing need for highly functional and taste-forward plant-based applications. As one of the leading processors of canola in Canada, Bunge has strong origination expertise and will supply Merit with certain critical inputs. Bunge's experience in selling canola-based products will complement Merit's patented processing technolo...