PR86333

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

-- Financing was co-led by Wheatsheaf and GV with broad participation from

strategic and environmental, social and governance (ESG) focused investors

across the food and agriculture value chain.

-- Benson Hill will use the funds to scale its commercial operations and its platform

food innovation engine CropOS(TM) across multiple food and ingredients markets.

Benson Hill (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2963733-1&h=2968916858&u=https%3A%2F%2Fbensonhill.com%2F&a=Benson+Hill )

has announced the close of a $150 million Series D funding round led by

Wheatsheaf Group and GV (formerly Google Ventures). The company's leading food

innovation engine CropOS(TM) (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2963733-1&h=3937595944&u=https%3A%2F%2Fbensonhill.com%2F%23inspiring-science&a=CropOS%E2%84%A2 ) taps nature's genetic diversity to develop

and commercialize healthier and more sustainable food and ingredient options

that benefit farmers, food companies of all kinds, and ultimately, consumers.

This funding round will accelerate the food tech company's efforts to deploy its

platform technology, expand partner development across the supply chain, and

scale product commercialization efforts.

Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here:

https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8799651-benson-hill-series-d/ 

The funding round attracted diverse investors recognizing the company's

strategic business model and potential to impact the health and well-being of

people and the planet through advances in the food system. New and returning

investors included Argonautic Ventures, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec

(CDPQ), Emart, GS Group, Louis Dreyfus Company, iSelect Fund, Fall Line

Capital, Mercury Fund, Prelude Ventures, Prolog Ventures, S2G Ventures, and

additional strategic and family office investors.

Benson Hill leverages Cloud Biology(R), a discipline combining the power of

data science, machine learning and AI techniques with plant biology and

genomics. CropOS(TM) is the platform that makes this discipline actionable,

significantly accelerating the precision and speed of product development.

Benson Hill's technology platform and collaborations empower the creation of

healthier and more sustainable feed, food and ingredient options that consumers

are seeking, while also delivering strong crop performance that farmers demand.

"As a firm, we are focused on investing in innovation that delivers the right

calories and nourishment for a growing global population in a less

commodity-driven food system," said Stephan Dolezalek, Executive Director at

Wheatsheaf Group. "We feel the culture and partners propelling Benson Hill 

forward will have a significant impact on the health and sustainability challenges

that burden our current food system in a way that benefits society and our environment."

"We are excited to contribute to the scale-up of Benson Hill's work to advance

a sustainable future of food by realizing the value creation potential of

technology-enabled innovation," said Max Clegg, Head of Louis Dreyfus Company's

corporate venture capital program, LDC Innovations. "The power of genomics and

genetic diversity is largely untapped, and we believe that the company's technology

and collaborative model unlocks efficiencies and new product differentiation for

stakeholders across the value chain, from farmers to end-consumers."

"The plant-based protein movement is global in scale," said Hewie Kang, CEO of

Emart, Shinsegae Group. "Benson Hill's product innovations, particularly in the

area of protein and nutrient density, are poised to help further accelerate the

adoption of plant-based alternatives. Our investment reflects a strategic

intent to help realize the vision of delivering a steady stream of more

sustainable and healthy food options to a global consumer."

With this new round of funding, Benson Hill will continue to advance Cloud

Biology(R) and its innovation engine CropOS(TM), amplify partner development

efforts, continue to recruit top talent, and propel the commercial launch of

the first Ultra-High Protein soybean varieties in 2021, among other product

launches. The company's portfolio of high-quality soybean varieties delivers a

full range of in-demand premium attributes, including better digestibility,

heart-healthy omega fatty acids, and higher protein that serve the plant-based

food, healthy oils, animal feed and aquaculture markets.

"As a society, we're at a crossroads made more evident as the pandemic has

revealed strengths and vulnerabilities in our food system," said Matt Crisp

(https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2963733-1&h=74912192&u=https%3A%2F%2Fbensonhill.com%2Fleadership%2Fmatthew-crisp%2F&a=Matt+Crisp ), Benson Hill CEO. "Food choices that create enjoyment,

make us stronger, and help preserve our environment need to be accessible to

everyone, and the power of plant diversity and technology innovation can help fuel

that evolution. We're grateful for the growing coalition of investors, stakeholders,

farmers and partners who recognize the urgency and opportunity of this moment to think

collaboratively and modernize food production."

About Benson Hill

Benson Hill moves food forward with Cloud Biology(R) and the CropOS(TM)

platform, a leading food innovation engine that combines data science and

machine learning with biology and genetics. Benson Hill empowers innovators to

unlock nature's genetic diversity from plant to plate, with the purpose of

creating healthier, great-tasting food and ingredient options that are both

widely accessible and sustainable. More information can be found at

bensonhill.com (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2963733-1&h=3364652039&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bensonhill.com%2F&a=bensonhill.com )

or on Twitter at @bensonhillinc (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2963733-1&h=2934798209&u=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fbensonhillinc&a=%40bensonhillinc. ).

About Wheatsheaf Group

Wheatsheaf Group invests in food and agriculture businesses using capital and

expertise with a far-sighted perspective to deliver lasting commercial and

social benefit. With one of the largest and longest established investment

teams in the sector, Wheatsheaf partners with its portfolio companies to create

efficiencies in the production and distribution of food; developing innovative

business models and technologies to deliver affordable, nutritious and safe

food that sustains both human health and the health of the planet. Through

deploying such business models and technologies commercially at scale,

Wheatsheaf works to deliver enduring solutions to address one of modern

society's most pressing challenges - supplying healthy, nutritious food to meet

the demands of a changing global population. Wheatsheaf Group is part of the

Grosvenor Estate.

About Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC)

LDC is a leading merchant and processor of agricultural goods. Leveraging its

global reach and extensive asset network to serve customers and consumers

around the world, the company works to deliver the right products to the right

location, at the right time – safely, responsibly and reliably. Its activities

span the entire value chain from farm to fork, across a broad range of business

lines (platforms). Since 1851, its portfolio has grown to include Grains &

Oilseeds, Coffee, Cotton, Juice, Rice, Sugar, Freight and Global Markets. LDC

helps to feed and clothe some 500 million people every year by originating,

processing and transporting approximately 80 million tons of products.

Structured as a matrix organization of six geographical regions and eight

platforms, the company is active in over 100 countries and employs

approximately 18,000 people globally.

About Emart

Emart, a Korea-based company, is a multi-format retailer that includes Emart

Hypermarkets, Emart Traders, a warehouse retail model, Shinsegae Food, which

owns manufacturing facilities, food distribution channels, international

restaurant and beverage franchises, Emart24 convenience stores, Emart Everyday

small grocery stores, upscale mall complexes, Starbucks Korea, and SSG.COM

(online mall). Its portfolio provides extensive consumer interactions, derived

from monthly visits by half of the population of South Korea, and 20 million

active members of its loyalty card. Apart from Korea, Emart also has retail

footprints in Asia including Vietnam, Mongolia, Philippines and China. Emart,

through its Global Sourcing division, operates several overseas offices,

including Emart America Inc., a U.S.-based entity that introduces products for

export/import on behalf of all Emart Affiliates. In the U.S., Emart operates

premium grocery stores under the name of Bristol Farms, Metropolitan Market,

New Seasons Market and others through its subsidiary Good Food Holdings. More

information can be found at emartcompany.com (https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2963733-1&h=1100047636&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emartcompany.com%2Fen%2Fmain.do&a=emartcompany.com ).

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SOURCE Benson Hill

CONTACT: Benson Hill, Melanie Bernds, mbernds@bensonhill.com