Ostara Provides Corporate Update: Additional Growth Capital from Equity Funding and New Credit Facility; New Board Director, Monty Bayer

Capital supports production scale-up and continued growth of Ostara's sustainable Crystal Green fertilizer sales


VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA and RIVERVIEW, FL, USA, Jan. 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc. (“Ostara” or the “Company”) today provided an update on its progress of key initiatives in support of strategic growth.   
 
“The ag-tech space is evolving, and Ostara is driving an undeniable industry shift towards circularity, offering farmers profitable, regenerative solutions for phosphate-use in their fields,” says Dan Parmar, Ostara President and CEO. “Closing the second tranche of our current equity financing, with the strong support of our key investors as we continue to scale, is fundamental to our success. We welcome the industry expertise of Monty Bayer to our Board as we enter another period of strong growth.” 
 
CORPORATE FINANCE UPDATE 

Closing of Second Tranche of Previously Announced Equity Financing 

  • On December 17th, 2019, the Company closed the second tranche of its previously announced equity financing, for additional proceeds of approximately US$5 million (the “Financing”).   
  • The Financing is being co-led by long-standing Ostara investors, Wheatsheaf Group Limited and VantagePoint Capital Partners, with follow-on participation by other existing Ostara shareholders, including key Ostara fertilizer distribution partner, Taurus Agricultural Marketing Inc.

Closing of Secondary Working Capital Credit Facility 

  • On December 23rd, 2019, Ostara closed a new US$5 million credit facility (the “WC Credit Facility”) with a Canadian based lender. 
  • The WC Credit Facility is intended to provide working capital for the Company’s on-going fertilizer production scale-up and augments the Company’s existing credit facility with Comerica Bank.  

Ostara Welcomes Monty Bayer, Experienced Ag Industry Executive, to Board of Directors  

  • Effective January 1, 2020, Monty Bayer joined the Company’s Board of Directors.  Mr. Bayer currently serves as Executive Director at Wheatsheaf Group, a leading investor in food and agriculture.  
  • Mr. Bayer is a well-respected senior industry leader, having spent more than 20 years in key leadership roles globally within the agriculture science unit of Dow Chemical Company (North America and Asia).   
  • Mr. Bayer was appointed President and CEO of Actagro, LLC in 2013 and led the growth of Actagro culminating in its purchase by Nutrien Ltd. in March 2019.  Mr. Bayer holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alberta and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Queen’s University in Canada.   

“The agriculture industry is tasked with sustainably feeding the world, and through innovation we have a unique opportunity to redefine how we respond to this challenge,” said Monty Bayer, Ostara Board Director and Executive Director at Wheatsheaf Group. “Ostara’s solution can help profitably grow more food while cleaning precious water resources; I look forward to working with the management team and lending my experience and connections to add value to their growth.” 

About Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc. 
Ostara reimagines resources, helping the world clean water to grow more food. The Company’s Pearl® technology recovers phosphorus and nitrogen—from industrial, agricultural, and municipal water streams—and transforms these nutrients into a line of premium, sustainable fertilizers under the Crystal Green® brand. Sold into the agriculture and turf sectors through a network of established distributors in North America and Europe, Crystal Green® is the first continuous-release phosphorus fertilizer to release nutrients in response to plant demand. The Root-Activated™ granules are proven to increase yields across a wide variety of crops and soil pH, enhancing soil health while significantly reducing the impact of phosphorus tie-up and runoff. Ostara’s circular solution helps improve food security and protect local waterways from nutrient pollution. To learn more about how Ostara is closing the loop on phosphorus, visit ostara.com.

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Reimagining Resources: Ostara’s proprietary Pearl technology recovers nutrients from industrial, agricultural, and municipal water treatment streams, transforming them into Crystal Green; sustainable granular fertilizers that improve crop yields and reduce the impact of runoff.  MONTY BAYER, BSc, MBA
Ostara Board Director

Mr. Bayer is a visionary business leader with a long history of creating and managing strategic growth across multiple industries. For more than 20 years, Mr. Bayer worked extensively throughout Dow Chemical Company’s agriculture science unit in North America and Asia as well in Dow corporate venture capital and business development, until joining Actagro, LLC as President and CEO in 2013. Developing a robust pipeline of new technologies, market opportunities, and investment opportunities, Mr. Bayer led the sale of Actagro, a sustainable soil and plant health technology solutions company, to strategic buyer, Nutrien, in March of 2019. Currently, Mr. Bayer serves as the Executive Director at Wheatsheaf Group, a leading investor in food and agriculture, and is based out of their North American office in San Francisco.

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