Boulder-based Meati sells imitation meat products made from mushroom root. (Courtesy Meati)
Meati’s sale is official.
On Tuesday, an Adams County judge signed off on a $4 million sale of the Boulder-based alternative meat company, which was founded in 2016 and raised $450 million in venture capital.
The buyer is Yasir Abdul, a New Jersey-based ad executive whose firm InvenTel is behind “As Seen on TV” marketing. Court filings show Abdul has been running the embattled company, which makes products from mushroom root, since early May, pouring upward of $450,000 into its operations.
Abdul did not respond to a request for comment. A May court filing states that, as part of the deal, he is assuming the company’s existing tax liens and all obligations to Trinity Capital Inc., a lender owed $13.5 million as of that month.
Though court filings do not explicitly mention it, Meati’s downfall appears connected to a situation in March, when Meati said an unspecified bank repossessed two-thirds of its cash. The move led CEO Phil Graves to warn the company’s 150 employees that Meati was at risk of ceasing operations, including at its 120,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Thornton.
Last month, investor Ryan Bethencourt, who is assisting with the ownership transition, told trade publication AgFunderNews that Abdul was buying Meati in a personal capacity and having conversations with other investors.
“The plant is up and running and we’ve been helping them bring their expenses into line to deliver lower cost, more affordable products going forward,” Bethencourt said in June. “Meati’s pricing at the moment is definitely, I would say, ultra-premium. We would love to see if there’s a way to bring that down to be more cost competitive.”
Abdul’s company InvenTel previously bought Wild Earth, a vegan dog food company founded by Bethencourt, out of bankruptcy, according to AgFunderNews.
The sale of Meati was initially proposed at the beginning of May but was delayed by a California company.
LiveComplete, which makes plant-based protein powder, objected to the now-completed deal in a June 2 filing, saying that an attorney in control of Meati had failed to respond to LiveComplete’s interest in a possible acquisition.
LiveComplete withdrew the objection June 25. The company said its interest in Meati was “serious, well-considered, and supported by a readiness to act promptly,” but it had concluded the process underway would not allow for “substantive engagement from interested third parties.”
Boulder-based Meati sells imitation meat products made from mushroom root. (Courtesy Meati)
Meati’s sale is official.
On Tuesday, an Adams County judge signed off on a $4 million sale of the Boulder-based alternative meat company, which was founded in 2016 and raised $450 million in venture capital.
The buyer is Yasir Abdul, a New Jersey-based ad executive whose firm InvenTel is behind “As Seen on TV” marketing. Court filings show Abdul has been running the embattled company, which makes products from mushroom root, since early May, pouring upward of $450,000 into its operations.
Abdul did not respond to a request for comment. A May court filing states that, as part of the deal, he is assuming the company’s existing tax liens and all obligations to Trinity Capital Inc., a lender owed $13.5 million as of that month.
Though court filings do not explicitly mention it, Meati’s downfall appears connected to a situation in March, when Meati said an unspecified bank repossessed two-thirds of its cash. The move led CEO Phil Graves to warn the company’s 150 employees that Meati was at risk of ceasing operations, including at its 120,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Thornton.
Last month, investor Ryan Bethencourt, who is assisting with the ownership transition, told trade publication AgFunderNews that Abdul was buying Meati in a personal capacity and having conversations with other investors.
“The plant is up and running and we’ve been helping them bring their expenses into line to deliver lower cost, more affordable products going forward,” Bethencourt said in June. “Meati’s pricing at the moment is definitely, I would say, ultra-premium. We would love to see if there’s a way to bring that down to be more cost competitive.”
Abdul’s company InvenTel previously bought Wild Earth, a vegan dog food company founded by Bethencourt, out of bankruptcy, according to AgFunderNews.
The sale of Meati was initially proposed at the beginning of May but was delayed by a California company.
LiveComplete, which makes plant-based protein powder, objected to the now-completed deal in a June 2 filing, saying that an attorney in control of Meati had failed to respond to LiveComplete’s interest in a possible acquisition.
LiveComplete withdrew the objection June 25. The company said its interest in Meati was “serious, well-considered, and supported by a readiness to act promptly,” but it had concluded the process underway would not allow for “substantive engagement from interested third parties.”
