Message #1 From:
Stock News Bot Date: October 27, 2006 05:00:00 AM
ABG News Dyadic Enters into Research and Development Agreement with Abengoa Bioenergy in the Area of Cellulosic Ethanol Production
JUPITER, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dyadic International, Inc. (AMEX:DIL),
a biotechnology company, today announced that it has signed a three-year
research and development (R&D) agreement and a stock purchase agreement
with Abengoa Bioenergy R&D, Inc. (ABRD), an Abengoa Bioenergy Company
focusing on research and development. Under the terms of the purchase
agreement, Abengoa Bioenergy has agreed to invest $10 million in Dyadic,
for which it will be issued 2,136,752 shares of Dyadic Common Stock at
$4.68 per share (based on the closing sales price on October 25, 2006,
as reported on the American Stock Exchange). The closing of the sale of
the common shares is subject to approval of the listing of the shares by
the American Stock Exchange and other customary closing conditions.
After the closing, under certain circumstances, additional securities
may be issuable to ABRD. Cowen and Company, LLC, acted as an advisor to
Dyadic.
Dyadic will use the proceeds from this private sale to fund its R&D
obligations under the R&D agreement, which has as its objective the
development of a cost-effective enzyme production system for commercial
application in Abengoa Bioenergy’s bioethanol
(cellulosic ethanol) production process. The R&D agreement, which does
not become effective until the private sale closes, calls upon Dyadic to
use its proprietary technologies to develop one or more enzyme mixture
manufacturing systems customized to ABRD’s
proprietary biomass substrates. The R&D agreement contemplates that
Dyadic will perform both foundational research of general application to
the cellulosic ethanol field and specific applications research for the
achievement of the goals of ABRD’s program.
Under the terms of the R&D agreement, if Dyadic successfully develops
one or more enzyme manufacturing systems for Abengoa Bioenergy, Dyadic
may be entitled to receive license fees, technology transfer fees and
royalties on ethanol sales. Other financial terms were not disclosed.
“Abengoa Bioenergy is considered to be the
second largest ethanol producer in the world and a leader in the fields
of both corn-derived and cellulose-derived ethanol production. We are
extremely pleased to partner with Abengoa Bioenergy to leverage Dyadic’s
patented C1 platform enzyme technology to enable commercial development
of biomass derived ethanol,” said Glenn E.
Nedwin, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer for Dyadic.
“We recognized that Dyadic’s
enzyme technology, especially in the field of cellulosic ethanol, is
state-of-the-art,” said Gerson Santos-Leon,
R&D Director of Abengoa Bioenergy. “Abengoa
Bioenergy is looking forward to working with Dyadic in the development
of large-scale enzyme production systems and manufacturing processes for
use in the production of abundant low cost fermentable sugars from
biomass, with initial focus on cellulosic ethanol production.”
“We are very excited to enter into this
partnership with Abengoa Bioenergy, a recognized leader in the field of
cellulosic ethanol, and are also pleased to welcome ABRD as a strategic
investor, research collaborator and Dyadic shareholder,”
commented Dyadic’s President and CEO, Mark
Emalfarb. “Abengoa Bioenergy is a visionary
company and an important first partner for Dyadic for its Biorefineries
Business. Additional partners will stand to benefit not only from access
to Dyadic’s technologies specific to their
area of interest but also from the core technology development program
that is fundamental to efficient production of ethanol, other biofuels,
polymers and other chemicals from biomass, thereby reducing our
dependence on foreign oil.”
Javier Salgado, Abengoa Bioenergy´s President
& CEO, added: “Dyadic is recognized as a
leader in innovation and technology in the enzymes production field.
This investment and the R&D collaboration with Dyadic represent a key
building block in the Abengoa Bioenergy Biomass Program, particularly in
the area of specialized enzymes.”
Pursuant to the parties’ purchase agreement,
the Company has agreed to file a registration statement with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission covering the resale of the shares
issued at closing, as well as the additional shares, if any, issuable
after the closing.
The securities offered in the private sale were not registered under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Act") or any state securities
laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent
registration, or an applicable exemption from registration, under the
Act and applicable state securities laws.
About Dyadic
Dyadic International, Inc. is engaged in the development, manufacture
and sale of biological products using a number of proprietary fungal
strains to produce enzymes and other biomaterials, principally focused
on a system for protein production based on the patented Chrysosporium
lucknowense fungus, known as C1. Dyadic is applying its technologies
to produce enzymes for use in converting various agricultural products
(e.g. corn) and waste products (e.g. switch grass, wheat straw, sugar
cane bagasse, etc.) into fermentable sugars, which can then be used in
the production of traditional and cellulosic ethanol as well as other
products currently derived from petroleum. Dyadic's C1 technology also
is being developed to facilitate the discovery, development and
large-scale production of human antibodies and other high-value
therapeutic proteins. Dyadic currently sells more than 45 liquid and dry
enzyme products to more than 200 industrial customers in approximately
50 countries for the textile, pulp & paper and animal feed industries.
About Abengoa Bioenergy
Abengoa Bioenergy is considered to be the second largest ethanol
producer in the world with production facilities located in Europe and
the USA. Abengoa Bioenergy is one of the five business units of Abengoa,
S.A. (MCE:ABG),
a technology company that applies innovative solutions for sustainable
development in the infrastructures, environment and energy sectors.
Abengoa, S.A. is a listed company on the Madrid Stock Exchange with 2005
revenues of approximately two billion euros, and is present in more that
seventy countries where it operates with its five business units: Solar,
Bioenergy, Environmental Services, Information Technologies, and
Industrial Engineering and Construction. (www.abengoa.com)
Cautionary Statement for Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release are
"forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements involve
risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results, performance
or achievements to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. For a discussion of these risks and uncertainties, please
see our filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, which are available free of charge on the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov,
including our Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December
31, 2005, and our subsequent filings with the SEC. Except as required by
law, we expressly disclaim any intent or obligation to update any
forward-looking statements.
