Amyris Files Chapter 11 and Plans To Sell Consumer Brands

Biotechnology company Amyris and certain domestic subsidiaries have commenced voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The company’s entities outside the US are not included in the proceedings.

In its announcement on Aug. 9, the company said it is moving forward with an operational and financial restructuring to further advance its ongoing strategic transformation and position the company for long-term success.

The restructuring is intended to improve the company's cost structure, capital structure, and liquidity position while streamlining Amyris' business portfolio to focus on its core competencies in R&D and the scale-up, commercialization, and applications development of its sustainable ingredients derived through biofermentation.

In tandem, to advance the company's restructuring goals and maximize the value of its assets, Amyris is planning to exit its consumer brands and will begin marketing them for sale, with a view to having these brands continue to leverage Amyris' cutting-edge science and technology while under new ownership. As the sale process progresses, Amyris will continue to operate these brands, including through retail partners and the brands' e-commerce platforms.

Amyris’s stable of consumer brands—which span from baby care to men opause to haircare to skincare—includes Biossance, JVN, Pipette, Olika, Costa Brazil, Menolabs, Stripes, Ecofabulous and 4U by Tia. Its newest brands include Stripes, a menopause brand created with Naomi Watts and Ecofabulous, which debuted in late 2022. Amyris acquired hand hygiene brand Olika in in 2021.  

Amyris has secured a commitment from an entity affiliated with existing lender Foris Ventures for $190 million of debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing to support continued day-to-day operations as the company works with its key stakeholders to negotiate a consensual go-forward plan centered on Amyris' core capabilities. Subject to Court approval and the DIP budget, this DIP financing will provide liquidity to help fulfill commitments to the Company's valued employees, customers, partners, and vendors during the process.

In May, Amyris completed a deal to license select cosmetic ingredients, including Neossance Squalane, Neossance Hemisqualane and CleanScreen, to Givaudan.

In June, it announced a transformation plan.

You can listen to a Happi podcast with Pipette here. 

“Since its founding 20 years ago, Amyris has been a pioneer in the development of ingredients made with synthetic biology and has enjoyed great commercial success, particularly as a result of our innovative Lab-to-Market technology platform, proven ability to rapidly bring new products to market, and state-of-the-art science and manufacturing infrastructure,” said Han Kieftenbeld, Interim CEO and CFO of Amyris. “Over the past months, we have been hard at work on a strategic transformation plan to reduce costs, improve operational effectiveness, and achieve sustainable growth. We believe the step forward our company has taken today puts us on the best path to address our financial challenges and achieve a comprehensive solution—rooted in Amyris' ground-breaking science, formulation capabilities, and technology.”

Kieftenbeld noted that Amyris’ “aspiration to become the most efficient and productive biotechnology company in our industry has not changed. We remain incredibly excited about Amyris' long-term potential and our uniquely talented team's proven ability to deliver on the promise of synthetic biology and continue to make a lasting impact. At the end of this restructuring process, we believe that Amyris will emerge as a financially stronger company with a more focused business model and well-defined path to profitability. In turn, we will be poised to grow sustainably alongside our valued partners and make an even greater impact on our world through clean chemistry.”

To ensure a smooth transition into Chapter 11, the company filed with the Court a series of customary motions seeking to continue operating as usual and uphold its commitments to its employees and other valued stakeholders during the process. These “first day” motions include requests to continue to pay wages and provide benefits to employees as usual and maintain its customer programs and policies. The company said intends to pay vendors in the ordinary course for all goods received and services rendered after the filing.