Amyris Initiates Strategic Transformation Program And Secures Funding
EMERYVILLE, Calif., June 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Amyris, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMRS), a leading synthetic biotechnology company accelerating the world's transition to sustainable consumption through its Lab-to-MarketTM technology platform and clean beauty consumer brands, today announced that its Board of Directors has engaged the Business Recovery Services unit of PricewaterhouseCoopers ("PwC") and established a subcommittee of the Board (the "Restructuring Committee"), made up of three independent directors, working with Management, to execute on a transformation program to accelerate improvements to the Company's cost and capital structure and liquidity.
The Company recently communicated during its Q1 2023 earnings call on May 9 that it had initiated a strategic review of all aspects of its cost structure in support of its Fit-to-Win initiatives. Over the past several weeks, Management has been working closely with PwC to define a transformation program that was reviewed and endorsed by the Company's Board during its most recent meeting.
The Company has established a Transformation Office which is supported by PwC and oversees various workstreams to deliver the Company's planned cost reduction target of approximately $250 million from cost of goods sold, operating expense, including a reduction in force, and a simplification of its business portfolio.
John Melo, Chief Executive Officer and President, commented, "We are pleased with the support of the PwC team as well as our board Restructuring Committee on the expansion and acceleration of our "Fit to Win" efficiency and cost reduction program. It is an important and necessary step in the evolution of Amyris to reduce our cost base, improve our operational effectiveness and achieve sustainable growth while continuing to execute the delivery of sustainable chemistry through our Lab to MarketTM capabilities and invest in our leading consumer brand portfolio. We are executing our strategy and accelerating our path to profitability."
The Company has entered into loan amendments with its principal secured lenders, Foris Ventures, LLC ("Foris") and DSM Finance B.V., that result in a waiver of all existing defaults and thus ending the forbearances previously entered into with these same parties. On June 5, 2023, the Company entered into a secured term loan facility with Anesma Group, LLC ("Anesma"), an affiliate of Foris, whereby Anesma made available to the Company up to $50 million, which was partially drawn by the Company on June 5, 2023. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of funds advanced under the Loan Facility for working capital and general corporate purposes. Additional information about this Loan Facility is provided in a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
About Amyris
Amyris (Nasdaq: AMRS) is a leading synthetic biotechnology company, transitioning the Clean Health & Beauty and Flavors & Fragrances markets to sustainable ingredients through fermentation and the company's proprietary Lab-to-MarketTM technology platform. This Amyris platform leverages state-of-the-art machine learning, robotics and artificial intelligence, enabling the company to rapidly bring new innovation to market at commercial scale. Amyris ingredients are included in over 20,000 products from the world's top brands, reaching more than 300 million consumers. Amyris also owns and operates a family of consumer brands that is constantly evolving to meet the growing demand for sustainable, effective and accessible products. For more information, please visit http://www.amyris.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements, and any statements other than statements of historical fact could be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding future events, such as Amyris' strategy, expectations, and success of the Transformation Office and Amyris' strategic transformation initiatives in improving its cost and capital structure, liquidity and operational effectiveness, and achieving sustainable growth, as well as Amyris' expectations regarding the anticipated use of net proceeds from the Loan Facility. These statements are based on management's current expectations, and actual results and future events may differ materially due to risks and uncertainties, including risks related to Amyris' liquidity and ability to operate as a going concern, risks related to its financing activities including successfully obtaining waivers and amendments of outstanding loan agreements, risks related to potential delays or failures in completing planned strategic transactions and dispositions, risks related to potential delays or failures in development, regulatory approval, launch, production and commercialization of products, risks related to global economic trends, inflation and policy measures undertaken to address inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic and any other geopolitical events, including the Ukraine conflict, resulting in global economic, financial and supply chain disruptions that may negatively impact Amyris' business operations and financial results or cause market volatility, risks related to Amyris' reliance on third parties particularly in the supply chain, and other risks detailed from time to time in filings Amyris makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Amyris disclaims any obligation to update information contained in these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
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SOURCE Amyris, Inc.
