22 t ransact ions EvolvA to AcQuIrE

ABuNDA NutrItIoN Evolva holding sA has announced that it plans to acquire its r&D partner Abunda Nutrition, Inc. Evolva and San Francisco-based Abunda have collaborated on the development of Abunda’s next-generation nutritional ingredients since 2009. One part of this collaboration, using Evolva’s proprietary technology, succeeded in making the key components of the natural high intensity sweetener Stevia via fermentation in yeast. This process bypasses the complex logistics associated with the traditional cultivation, processing and refining of Stevia plants, and allows pure Stevia sweetness components to be produced.

The value of the global sweetener

market is currently estimated at USD 70 billion p.a., with sugar the dominant product.

Under the terms of the proposed merger,

Evolva will acquire 100% of the share capital of Abunda in return for 25 million Evolva shares (12.9% 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. Neil Goldsmith, Chief Executive Officer of

Evolva, said: “We are excited by the commercial potential of the Stevia products we are developing together with Abunda and believe they create significant additional partnering opportunities for Evolva. We intend to commercialise Stevia following our established business-to-business model and expect to actively enter collaborations with companies regarding manufacturing scale-up and commercialisation.” fi

Aps sAlADs £6m fuNDINg pAckAgE

from YorkshIrE BANk one of the uk's largest suppliers of tomatoes is ripe for further growth after wrapping up a £6m funding boost. APS Salads, which is based in Cheshire,

has used the cash injection to buy a new site in Kent and to invest in its existing facilities. Family-owned APS, which was founded

as A Pearson & Sons in 1949 by Albert and Hilda Pearson, has secured funds from Yorkshire Bank as it looks to increase annual revenues from £39m.

The business currently employs more than

250 staff. The founding couple's son Alan and grandson Mark are actively involved in the development and day-to-day running of the business.

Mark Pearson said: “Our Kent acquisition

has allowed us to significantly increase production and has given us an additional packaging and processing centre in the south of the UK, greatly improving efficiency across the business.

“This funding will also allow us to invest in

our Cheshire sites as we target further contracts with UK supermarkets and food suppliers.”

Yorkshire Bank's David Hunt said: “APS

Salads runs a hugely impressive operation and has very clear plans for growth. This latest expansion will unlock doors to supply other large UK retailer and also gives the business capacity to enlarge its glasshouse footprint.”

Mike Travis and Tony Morris, partners at

south Manchester law firm Chafes, advised APS on the purchase of the Kent site and a combined heat and power unit which generates electricity for those operations, with excess energy sold back to the national grid. fi

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AQuA AmErIcA ANNouNcEs

AgrEEmENt to sEll Its mAINE opErAtIoNs to

coNNEctIcut WAtEr Aqua America, Inc. (NYsE: Wtr) has reached an agreement to sell its maine operations to connecticut Water service, Inc. (NAsDAQ: ctWs) for $53.5 million, subject to certain adjustments at closing. Aqua America has owned the company, which includes 11 water systems serving 16,000 customers in 17 communities throughout maine, since march 1999. the sale, which requires approval of the maine public utilities commission, is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2012. The sale to Connecticut Water is the sixth such announcement signed by Aqua America in the past seven months. "The sale of our Maine operations is consistent with our strategy to focus our resources in states where we have critical mass and consolidated rates to efficiently support our growth-through-acquisition model," said Aqua America Chairman and CEO Nicholas DeBenedictis. "The acquisition allows Connecticut Water to expand in New England, buying an Aqua America system that has benefitted from key capital investments to enhance its environmental compliance."

"We are continuing to focus our utility

operations in states that have a positive regulatory and business climate that allow us to continue to make the capital investments necessary to deliver quality water and reliable service to our customers, while providing the opportunity to earn an adequate return on that investment for our shareholders," said DeBenedictis. "We will also continue to pursue opportunities in other states consistent with our growth-through-acquisition strategy." fi

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 OCTOBER 2011

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