Australian Wide Open Agriculture buys Prolupin out of bankruptcy

Insolvency administrator has found a solution for Prolupin. The lupin-based technology for sustainable nutrition will be retained and 15 employees will be taken over by the buyer.

Rostock - The creditors of Prolupin GmbH have approved the purchase agreement that insolvency administrator Michael Bohnhoff of PLUTA Rechtsanwalts GmbH negotiated with the investor. Under the agreement, part of the food tech company's operations will be taken over by a subsidiary of Australia's Wide Open Agriculture Limited, a listed company.

As part of the insolvency proceedings, the production and distribution of lupine-based end products such as yogurt, ice cream and desserts had to be discontinued, as this division recorded significant losses and no suitable buyer could be found in the available time.

The sale preserves for the market the method originally developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for producing a vegetable protein from lupine seeds. I am pleased that work can continue on it and that the outstanding research work will be preserved for the future.

Michael Bohnhoff, PLUTA Rechtsanwalts GmbH

The purchase price achieved will have a positive impact on the insolvency estate, which is expected to enable creditors to benefit from an above-average quota. Bohnhoff added: "The solution now reached represents the best possible outcome for creditors." This agreement will allow the innovative sustainable nutrition technology developed by Prolupin to continue, while safeguarding the interests of creditors.

15 jobs saved

However, the research work that has been carried out at the Fraunhofer Institute since the 1990s to produce plant proteins from lupine seeds will be preserved. With the approval of the creditors, the company purchase agreement can be implemented shortly, with 15 employees being taken over by the investor.

Wide Open Agriculture (WOA) is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and is an Australian regenerative food and agriculture company. Its main product is a vegetable protein derived from lupins.

In 2010, Prolupin GmbH was founded as a spin-off of the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging in Freising, Bavaria. The company specialized in extracting the protein of the sweet lupin and making it usable for food production in the form of the unique lupin protein isolate (LPI). This patented process was based on 25 years of research. In 2014, the scientists at the Fraunhofer IVV and the researchers at Prolupin GmbH were awarded the German Future Prize for their development of plant-based food ingredients from lupins and their contribution to a balanced diet. The startup developed its own products and marketed them under the umbrella brand "MADE WITH LUVE" in German and Austrian food retailers and via selected online stores.