An unnamed buyer has signed an agreement to purchase the former Merit Functional Foods plant protein processing facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The plant has sat vacant since Merit entered receivership in early 2023, owing $95 million to its two main creditors — Export Development Canada (EDC) and Farm Credit Canada (FCC).
After discussions with multiple interested parties over the past two years, receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is seeking court approval for the sale of the property to a Manitoba numbered company. PwC also asked the court to seal confidential documents containing details about the buyer and the purchase agreement until the sale is closed.
The proposed deal "represents the best option with the least closing risk" after "extensive efforts to market and sell the property," says a report to the Manitoba Court of King's Bench, filed May 15th.
Merit Functional Foods was founded in 2019 as a joint venture between BC-based Burcon NutraScience Corporation and several food industry executives who had worked with Hemp Oil Canada. The company received a $30 million minority investment from Bunge the following year. Construction was completed on a 94,000 square foot facility for processing food-grade protein from peas and canola in Winnipeg in 2021.
A significant portion of the facility, which was projected to cost $150 million, was funded through federal loans and funding programs, as highlighted by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at an announcement in June 2020. Merit received $9.2 million from the federal Protein Industries Canada supercluster, and more than $90 million in loans and repayable contributions from Farm Credit Canada, Export Development Canada, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s AgriInnovate Program. The Manitoba government also announced funding for equipment purchases and training.
Burcon, which owns a patented plant protein extraction technology, announced a partnership deal earlier this year to acquire and scale up plant protein production at a facility in Galesburg, Illinois.
Related: Trudeau announces $90 million in financing for Manitoba pea and canola protein plant
