Cleantech magazine, a Cleantech Investor publication
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PureCircle Limited began trading on AIM at the end of last year, raising $50 million through the issue of 14.3 million shares at a price of $3.5 per share. PureCircle, which is advised by Hanson Westhouse, was valued at $456 million at the placing price. The funds raised will be used to finance expansion of the company’s production facilities.
First published in Cleantech magazine. January/February 2008. © Cleantech Investor Ltd. 2008
PureCircle is the leading global producer of Rebaudioside-A ('Reb-A'), a zero-calorie sweetener, which is extracted from the Stevia Rebaudiana Bertoni plant. PureCircle has a proprietary process technology for the extraction of Reb-A from Stevia and is believed to be the only commercial supplier in the world. Future demand for Reb-A is expected to be in excess of 2,000 million tonnes, from food and drinks industry customers. The Coca-Cola Co. and Cargill Inc. are launching a new calorie-free sweetener, to be named Rebina, which is high purity Reb-A: PureCircle has a supply agreement with Cargill.
Reb-A has a low glycemic index and can be consumed by diabetics. It also has the advantage that, as a replacement for sugar, it offers the potential to release sugar resources for use in biofuels – potentially offering a solution to the ‘food/fuel’ debate. |
