ONCE closes on a $5.3MM Equity Investment Round

PLYMOUTH, Minn., Oct. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ONCE Innovations, the world's leading developer of animal specific LED Lighting Systems, announced the successful completion of a $5.3 million Series A Equity Capital Round. 

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101011/CG79876LOGO)

The round was led by New Fashion Pork (NFP) of Jackson, MN, the Ag Ventures Alliance of Mason City, Iowa, Lateral Capital of Minneapolis, MN and ONCE founder and CEO, Mr. Zdenko Grajcar. The round also included a number of angel investors.  Concurrent with this round, ONCE also announced that it reached an additional agreement with leading investors which gives ONCE access to future growth capital in excess of $14 million.

"I would like to thank all the truly visionary investors who participated in this round of financing," stated Zdenko Grajcar, CEO of ONCE.  "The ONCE Team is working on the frontiers of science, in areas never researched before. We are working on new concepts and technologies which significantly depart from mainstream, orthodox theories. We are discovering new, essential roles animal-specific lighting plays in every animal's life. We are discovering that lighting can not only impact, but it can actually direct animal growth and development. We are developing technologies which can help a growing world produce more food at lower costs. This research, and the company we are building around it, would not happen without the help of investors who supported us at this vital stage," Mr. Grajcar concluded.

Commenting on the investment, ONCE President Brian Wilcox added, "The completion of our Series A financing is a very important milestone for ONCE. This new financing represents the most substantial investment ever in Agricultural lighting. What's more important is the vote of confidence represented by our lead investor, New Fashion Pork. NFP is a one of the largest and fastest growing swine producers in the US and this investment is strong recognition of the potential for performance-enhancing lighting in the food production industry. With the support of NFP, we are determined to fundamentally change the role of lighting within Agriculture."

"We are delighted to be associated with this impressive team," said Brad Freking, President and CEO of NFP. "We see in ONCE the ability to think very differently about lighting in agriculture and to both design and manufacture products which deliver a new range of benefits to our operations. As our company grows, we expect to see ONCE grow right alongside us. We think the ONCE and NFP core competencies are well aligned.  We look forward to working with ONCE for a long time to come."

About ONCE:

ONCE Innovations is a privately held LED technology development company with a primary focus on the research, development and commercialization of animal-specific, production-enhancing LED lighting systems. Since its inception in 2008, ONCE has developed a significant portfolio of over 75 patents and patents applications related to both LED lighting and animal production-enhancing technologies. ONCE is the global leader in agricultural lighting.  To help fund its growth, ONCE is licensing a portion of its technologies to the non-agricultural, General Illumination market. Early licensees include two of the top ten global LED lighting manufacturers. The ONCE technology research, marketing, and product development campus is located in Plymouth, MN, United States of America.

SOURCE ONCE Innovations