Benzinga | Dec 14, 2020 08:35AM EST

Calyxt Says Has Contracted To Sell All 2020 Grain Production Of Its High Oleic Soybean To ADM

Total Cumulative Sales to ADM of Over 4 Million Bushels

Agreement is Key Step in Calyxt's Transition to Advanced Go-To-Market Strategies

Calyxt, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLXT), a plant-based technology company, announced today that it has contracted to sell all 2020 grain production of its high oleic soybean to ADM (NYSE:ADM), a global leader in human and animal nutrition and the world's premier agricultural origination and processing company headquartered in Chicago. The transaction is a key step in Calyxt's 2020 transition to an advanced go-to-market strategy focused on providing plant-based innovations. Sales began in Q3 2020 and will continue through late 2021.

Calyxt's high oleic soybean was launched in 2019 as the first commercially approved gene-edited food in the United States. ADM has contracted to purchase all of Calyxt's high oleic soybean grain, following an initial purchase earlier in the year. The total purchases represent approximately four million bushels of high oleic soybean grain. ADM is responsible to crush the grain and will market and sell the resulting oil and meal.

"This agreement with ADM is yet another key milestone in monetizing our proprietary gene-editing technology and bringing our innovations to market," said Jim Blome, CEO of Calyxt. "This is an important step in the advancement of our strategy and frees resources and capital within Calyxt, allowing our talented team to focus on growing the business through licensing our proprietary technology, pursuing product development partnerships and seed sale arrangements."

"Our five new high oleic seed varieties introduced in 2020 underscores the progress we've made in expanding our offerings," said Vince Restucci, vice president of agronomy services. "Our high oleic soybean seed and grain products are well positioned to address the increase in market and consumer demand for premium vegetable oil."

"At ADM, we're continually looking for ways to create more value for customers, and that's exactly what we're doing by extending our high-oleic soybean oil offerings with this new agreement with Calyxt," said Charlie Morris, director of customer portfolio management. "We're seeing more and more customers asking for high-oleic products, and we're committed to leading in this value-added space. We appreciate the great relationship with Calyxt, and we're excited to expand our portfolio to meet the growing demand of our food customers."