DEAL NOTE: Crowell & Moring Advises BayWa Venture in Cross-Border Series B Investment in Amfora

San Francisco – August 11, 2021: Crowell & Moring represented BayWa Venture GmbH, the venture capital arm of BayWa AG (BYW:Xetra), in its investment in Amfora, Inc.’s $7 million Series B financing.  Headquartered in Munich, BayWa AG is a globally active group with the core segments of energy, agriculture, and building materials, as well as its development segment of innovation and digitalization. With its significant international expansion in recent years, BayWa AG has become the largest agricultural trader in Germany and one of the leading agricultural commodities trading companies in the world. As a global player, it develops leading projects and solutions for the basic human needs of food, energy, and building.   

Amfora is a biotechnology company using gene editing to increase the protein density of soybean and other crops to fuel the plant-based protein revolution.  Its mission is to meet the growing global demand for foods that are high in protein by enhancing the nutritional density of food and feed crops, while reducing the cost of food and the environmental toll on the planet. Leaps by Bayer and Spruce Capital Partners also participated in the Series B financing.     

Crowell & Moring’s deal team was led by San Francisco-based partner Jon O'Connell and included New York-based partner Anne Li, San Francisco-based counsel Matthew Pelnar and New York-based patent agent Agnes Xu. The firm worked alongside Marion Meyer, Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer of BayWa AG and Managing Director of BayWa Venture GmbH, and Kristal Robles-Golan, Senior Corporate Venture Manager of BayWa AG.