Ceres, Inc. Explained

Ceres, Inc.
Type:Public
Traded As:NASDAQ:
Industry:Biotechnology
Location City:Thousand Oaks, California
Location Country:United States
Key People:Richard Hamilton (president and CEO)
Products:Seeds of energy crops
Parent:Land O'Lakes
Subsid:Ceres Sementes do Brasil

Ceres, Inc. was a biotechnology company based in Thousand Oaks, California, United States that operated from 1996 to 2016, when it was acquired by Land O'Lakes. The company was a spinoff from UCLA researchers. Its ultimate commercial products were seeds of genetically modified crops used for biofuel production.[1] [2] In addition to its operations in the United States, Ceres had a subsidiary in Brazil called Ceres Sementes do Brasil.[3]

History

The company was founded in 1996 by UCLA professor Bob Goldberg and corporate partners with an initial capital of $50 million and an off-campus laboratory site overlooking Malibu, CA.[4] In 2002, the company signed a $137 million licensing agreement with Monsanto for their technology.[5]

Richard Flavell was Chief Scientific Officer from 1998 until the 2012 public offering.[6] From its 2012 initial public offering that raised $65 million until its acquisition, it was listed on the NASDAQ exchange.[7] [1] [8] In 2012, the largest shareholders were Artal Luxembourg, Warburg Pincus, Ambergate Trust, and Oxford Bioscience, while biotechnology company Monsanto had 4.8% stake.[1] The company's president and CEO was Richard Hamilton.[9]

A second public offering in 2014 raised an additional $20 million at $1 per share compared to the 2012 IPO at $13.

On June 21, 2016, Ceres was acquired by Land O'Lakes for $17.2 million.[10]

Products and research

A major early (2000) accomplishment was the full-length cDNA-sequencing of Arabidopsis thaliana in collaboration with Genset [11] with subsequent publication of the sequencies in TIGR and NCBI and submission to US PTO, and the characterization of Arabidopsis AFLP fragments in collaboration with Keygene NV. [12] In 2006, Ceres began a collaboration with the Noble Research Institute to develop switchgrass [13] Ceres sold sweet sorghum, switchgrass and high biomass sorghum seeds,[1] starting in 2009.Ann Hinch for Farmworld Online May 7 2008 Genome firm will sell biomass seeds for ’09 growing season It tested biofuel production from switchgrass and miscanthus.[8] In 2010, Ceres started to cooperate with Novozymes to improve the enzyme cocktails for biorefinery switchgrass and sweet sorghum.[14] USAID funded Ceres' research on biotech traits and trait stacks in rice for Asia.[15]

Notes and References

  1. News: Ceres Rises on First Trading Day for Biofuels Crop Company . https://archive.today/20130628202422/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-22/ceres-rises-on-first-trading-day-for-biofuels-crop-company.html . dead . June 28, 2013 . . Andrew . Herndon . 2012-02-22 . 2013-04-26.
  2. News: Ceres Inc sees IPO priced at $21-$23/share . . Aman . Shah . 2012-01-25 . 2013-04-26 . 2012-01-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120126160643/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/25/us-ceresinc-idUSTRE80O0XU20120125 . live .
  3. News: Ceres to seed sorghum in Brazil . Ethanol Producer Magazine . 2010-09-23 . 2013-04-26.
  4. News: A Few Rush to Exploit New Biotech Crops . Los Angeles Times. PAUL . JACOBS. 1999-12-31. 2020-06-09.
  5. News: Monsanto to invest $137 million in Ceres collaboration, stake. 2002-04-03 . St. Louis Business Journal. 2023-03-03.
  6. Web site: Ceres from 10-K for 2015.
  7. News: Ceres Announces Fiscal Second Quarter 2012 Financial Results. 2012-04-12 . 2020-06-09.
  8. News: California biofuel firm Ceres plans public offering . . Marla . Dickerson . 2012-01-25 . 2013-04-26.
  9. News: Ceres Unveils Switchgrass Seed Brand for Cellulosic Feedstock . Sustainable Business . 2008-01-05 . 2013-04-26.
  10. Web site: Land O'Lakes Acquires Ag Biotech Developer Ceres Inc.. hayandforage.com. en-US. 2016-06-22.
  11. News: Ceres and Genset milestone . Trends in Plant Science . G.E . de Vries . 2000-06-01 . 2024-06-22.
  12. News: Tour de force—near complete expression analysis of Arabidopsis genes . Bioprocess Online . Laura . DeFrancesco . 2000-07-18 . 2023-03-03.
  13. Web site: Ceres Noble Master Research Agreement.
  14. News: Novozymes and Ceres Partner on Biofuel Crops . Domestic Fuel . Cindy . Zimmerman . 2010-05-20 . 2013-04-26.
  15. News: Energy crop company Ceres receives additional $3.5M from USAID for trait stacks for rice . Green Car Congress . 2012-11-09 . 2013-04-26.