Israeli insolvency trustee Yoel Freilich has extended the period for offers on Believer Meats’ intellectual property, AgFunderNews reported. The cutoff moved from July 22 to August 5, according to the publication. Freilich, an attorney with Gissin & Co, is administering assets owned by Future Meat Technologies Ltd, the Israeli parent of the US operation known as Believer Meats, AgFunderNews said.
The extension reflects prospective-buyer interest and the time required to evaluate technically complex material, Freilich told AgFunderNews. He said cultivated-meat businesses, investment funds and other entities have expressed interest. The offering contains three patent groupings as well as cell lines, growth-media recipes and practical expertise for expanding production, according to Freilich.
US receiver Kevin Sink is separately overseeing the disposal of the North Carolina plant, AgFunderNews reported. Court records cited by the publication set an August 10 bid deadline and identify a $50 million offer from UPSIDE Foods as the approved starting bid. Those records schedule an auction for August 17 if competitors participate, followed by an August 20 sale hearing. A BDO teaser said more than $150 million had been spent on the facility’s design, construction and equipment.
Whether any factory bidder is also pursuing the intellectual property remains undisclosed, as Freilich declined to identify any overlap, according to AgFunderNews. He said buying the plant would not provide permission to use the technology or related expertise unless those rights were acquired from Future Meat Technologies Ltd. AgFunderNews reported that Believer Meats stopped operating in December and entered general receivership in early February.
CONCLUSION As described by AgFunderNews, the offering tests the value that remains in an insolvent cultivated-meat developer’s scale-up work. The outcome of the intellectual-property bidding, and any alignment with the independently managed factory disposal, are the next developments to watch.