AE Biofuels acquires Zymetis

AE Biofuels, Inc., a biofuels company based in Cupertino, Calif., has acquired Maryland-based Zymetis, Inc., a biotechnology company that develops products for the renewable chemicals and advanced fuels industries. Zymetis, Inc. will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of AE Biofuels. AE Biofuels issued 6,673,555 common shares to Zymetis shareholders in the transaction, with 766,000 of the shares vesting over a three-year period. Zymetis holds four granted patents and more than 10 pending patents on the Z-microbe(TM), a marine organism that was originally discovered consuming plant cellulose at a high rate in the Chesapeake Bay. Zymetis’ scientists discovered that the Z-microbe naturally generates about 90 enzymes that rapidly convert sugar, starch, and cellulose into useable chemicals and fuels. Zymetis’ Steve Hutcheson said the company lacks a commercialization platform for its technology which has already demonstrated the production of high-value chemicals to supply the global market. The combination of AE Biofuels and Zymetis “will enable the launch of new specialty chemical and renewable fuels products at an accelerated rate compared to the normal product development and construction cycle of three years or more,” said Eric McAfee, CEO of AE Biofuels states. The company operates a 55 million gallon ethanol plant in California and a 50 million gallon per year biodiesel production facility on the east coast of India, through the company’s wholly owned Universal Biofuels subsidiary. (July 6, 2011)