Agronutris has announced that its holding company EAP Group has entered safeguarding proceedings – a voluntary procedure that occurs when a company is at risk of insolvency – while Ÿnsect, which had announced the initiation of the same proceedings in September revealed that it need to attract €130 million in investment by 17 February.
Agronutris, which has a pilot black soldier fly farm in Toulouse that has a focus on producing protein for aquaculture feed and pet food, raised €100m in 2021 from investors including French public bank BPI France and investment manager Mirova. However, they said that the economic landscape was no longer in their favour.
“Access to funding has become harder due to an uncertain economic context and investments that have been curbed by the latest news in the industry, and the announcements made recently by other industrial actors,” the company said in a statement.
Meawhile Ÿnsect, which has mealworm farming sites at Dole and Amiens, and 214 employees, issued a tender offer on 17 January, seeking €130 million. According to the document, Ÿnsect’s revenue was €5.8 million in 2023, with third-party liabilities of approximately €104 million.
The company has raised nearly €600 million since launching in 2011 but, if no investors come forward by the deadline, they could face court-imposed restructuring, forced asset sales or liquidation.
Insect farming raised an impressive $68 million in 2024, but these developments are likely to have significant implications for the future of the sector.
