urbanSTL

St. Louis investment firm Lewis & Clark AgriFood said Wednesday it has closed on funding for a pair of investment funds that will provide growth-stage financing for food and agriculture companies.  The fast-growing investment firm has raised $257 million for its AgriFood Fund II and RBIC (Rural Business Investment Co.) Fund II. That includes $169 million for its AgriFood Fund II and $88 million for the RBIC fund, which closed in December. Lewis & Clark said both funds were oversubscribed, thanks to “strong demand from investors.” 

Lewis & Clark AgriFood launched as an offshoot of St. Louis-based investment firm Lewis & Clark Partners with the intent of developing a funding strategy in the food and agriculture industries. It focused on later-stage, growth investments and has backed 15 companies since starting its first fund in 2016. The firm has had one exit and another portfolio firm, St. Louis-based Benson Hill, plans to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

Wugen's Series B financing marks one of the largest equity funding rounds ever completed by a St. Louis-based company. Other large rounds in recent years include Benson Hill’s $150 million Series D raise in 2020, Galera Therapeutics’ $150 million Series C financing round in 2018 and TierPoint’s $320 million raise closed last year.

Patheon Biologic LLC is seeking St. Louis County subsidies for the project, which would be adjacent to its existing facility at 4766 LaGuardia Drive. Government documents say the new, 58,000-square-foot expansion includes two manufacturing suites, to be built over two years, that "will manufacture life changing and saving biologic drug substance products that treat a variety of cancers, arthritis, Hemophilia and Crohn's disease." Patheon currently has 669 employees at its facility, the documents say.

St. Louis County, through its County Council, is contemplating authorizing the issuance of up to $85 million in bonds for the project, plus approval of real and property tax abatement at a rate of 50% over 10 years. A sales tax exemption on construction materials is also being contemplated. Documents from the organization called the project "competitive" with other company locations.

The Gateway to the West is one of the Midwest's best cities for startups, according to VC firm M25's annual list of the region's top startup cities.  St. Louis hung onto to its No. 5 spot in 2021's ranking, repeating last year's result.

The rest of the top five cities in this year's ranking are unchanged from 2020's rankings: with Chicago, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis taking the No. 1 through No. 4 spots ahead of St. Louis. It's been the same top five cities since 2018, albeit with Indianapolis overtaking St. Louis in 2019, with no changes in order for three years, M25 said.

1. Chicago, IL 
2. Minneapolis, MN 
3. Pittsburgh, PA 
4. Indianpolis, IN
5. St. Louis, MO 
6. Columbus, OH 
7. Detroit, MI 
8. Ann Arbor, MI 
9. Madison, WI 
10. Cincinnati, OH 
11. Cleveland, OH 
12. Kansas City, MO 
13. Milwaukee, WI 
14. Louisville, KY 
15. Lafayette, IN
16. Bloomington, IN 
17. Omaha, NE
18. Champaign, IL 
19. Lincoln, NE 
20. Des Moines, IA

St. Louis startups raised more than $250 million in investment in the third quarter, making it one of the strongest quarters in recent years for venture capital funding here.
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So far in 2021, St. Louis startups have raised $374.9 million across 44 deals, according to the report’s data. Including the fourth quarter of 2020, investment locally has reached $627.8 million in the past year. The strong investment tally for St. Louis startups comes after deal flow locally softened in the second and third quarters of 2020 after the emergence of Covid-19. However, venture capital investment has roared back both locally and nationally.

Across all stages of funding, 2021 is shaping up to be a strong — and potentially record-setting — year for venture capital investment in St. Louis startups. Through the first three quarters of the year, St. Louis startups raised $374.9 across 44 deals, according to data from PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association. Local firms raised $256.8 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, the highest total of funding in a single quarter since local firms raised $302.7 million in the third quarter of 2018.