American Diversa and Celunol successfully merged into Verenium
Cambridge, MA and San Diego, CA (PRNewswire): Diversa Corporation (NASDAQ: DVSA) today announced that it has completed its previously announced merger transaction with Celunol Corporation. The new company will be the new leader in the global biofuel industry. The combined company, which has been named Verenium Corporation, has a growing portfolio of specialized enzymes and unique skills and operational capabilities designed to produce lower-cost biogenic sugars for a wide range of industrial applications.
The most important near-term business opportunity for Verenium will be the large-scale industrial production of cellulosic ethanol from a variety of bio feedstocks. In addition to changing its name, the company has changed its NASDAQ ticker symbol from "DVSA" to "VRNM" effective June 21, 2007, when it will begin trading under its new ticker symbol. The company will begin trading under its new ticker symbol.
Biofuel refers to solid, liquid, or gaseous fuels composed of or derived from biomass, which can replace gasoline and diesel fuel made from petroleum and is an important direction for renewable energy development and utilization. The so-called biomass refers to the use of the atmosphere, water, land, etc. through photosynthesis to produce a variety of organisms, that is, all living and can grow organic material. It includes plants, animals, and microorganisms, and unlike traditional fuels such as oil, coal, and nuclear energy, these emerging fuels are renewable fuels.
Earlier in the day, shareholders of both companies had agreed to the merger and certain proposals related to the merger. All regulatory approvals have been granted for the transaction and all closing conditions have been satisfied.
Diversa Corporation is an industrial biotechnology company that develops high-performance enzymes. It extracts microbial DNA directly from collected samples to avoid the often impossible task of growing microbes in the laboratory. It mines its collection of microbial genes, numbering in the billions, using high-throughput screening technologies designed to identify unique enzymes as product candidates.
Diversa Corporation develops enzymes that are environmentally friendly and more cost-effective for industries such as the global food and fuel markets. It has developed enzymes to meet the specific needs of companies in various markets, including grain processing, biofuels, animal health and nutrition and other industries.
Carlos A. Riva, Verenium's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are very pleased that both of our shareholders have agreed to this merger and we believe their support will give us even more confidence in the substantial investment offer that this transaction provides. After months of meticulous integration planning by both parties, we are very pleased to be merging into one company and we believe this transaction offers a unique opportunity for our partners, employees and shareholders."
"With this unique combination of assets, technology and personnel resulting from the merger, Verenium is now well positioned to become a vertically integrated leader in the fast-growing global biofuels industry. We believe that commercial success in this industry requires superior R&D capabilities as well as asset development expertise, and we have now combined these strengths into one company, the highly specialized Verenium Corporation."