The Israeli trustee tasked with selling the intellectual property assets of defunct cultivated meat startup Believer Meats is extending the deadline for bids from July 22 to August 5 given the “high level of interest.”
Yoel Freilich, an attorney at law firm Gissin & Co, is handling the sale of IP belonging to insolvent Israeli firm Future Meat Technologies Ltd (FML), the parent company of US-based Future Meat Technologies Inc (FMI), doing business as Believer Meats.
Freilich is working closely with US receiver Kevin Sink, who is handling the sale of Believer Meats’ production facility in North Carolina, although he would not say whether any bidders for the facility are also interested in the firm’s IP.
“We are trying as best we can to coordinate and to assist each other in every way,” Freilich told AgFunderNews. “However, whoever purchases the plant in North Carolina does not get the IP or the know-how of the company and doesn’t have permission to use it unless it unless he buys it from FML.”
Patents and know-how
According to Freilich, FML owns three families of patents and IP including cell lines, media formulations and know-how relating to scaling up cultivated meat production.
“We are extending the deadline due to the vast interest shown in the technology from cultivated meat companies, investment funds, and other entities, and the complexity of the due diligence process. We show a lot of information in the data room and let bidders interview our technology officers so they can understand the nature and the quality and the integrity of the IP.”
According to a flyer shared by Freilich, Believer Meats’ “value is the technology and know-how in practical scale-up of cultivated-meat production: cell lines, media logic, bioreactor operation, perfusion strategy, centrifuge integration, automation recipes, harvest/wash procedures, and process data generated through Israeli pilot-scale development and transferred into large-facility design.
“The IP and know-how assets are attractive because they shorten the path from laboratory biology to a manufacturable platform.”
The North Carolina plant
One of the best-funded players in the space having raised almost $400 million from backers including ADM Ventures and Tyson Ventures, Believer Meats ceased operations in December. It was put into general receivership in early February after receiver Kevin Sink secured court approval to sell the firm’s US assets.
Parties interested in bidding for the firm’s US production facility were given until today (July 20) to submit bids. According to court documents* filed in North Carolina, UPSIDE Foods has submitted a $50 million offer, which was approved by the North Carolina Business Court as a baseline bid. Should other bidders enter the fray, an auction will take place on July 28, with a sale hearing on July 30.
BDO Consulting Group, which is marketing the North Carolina site, did not immediately respond to questions from AgFunderNews about whether competing bids have come in.
According to a one-page teaser issued by BDO, “Over $150 million [was] invested in designing, building and installing related equipment for this state-of-the-art protein manufacturing facility” featuring “best-in-class construction and food processing engineering provided by Gray Construction and GEA, respectively” with “USDA and FDA inspections complete and approved.”
In a lawsuit filed last year, Gray Construction alleged it was owed $36.4 million for design and construction work on the North Carolina facility. Ameris Bank is also a senior secured lender, having provided a $25 million term loan backed by a first-priority security interest in Believer’s bank accounts, machinery, and equipment.
Other secured parties listed in court filings include Robert Reiser and Company, Leaf Capital Funding, ADM Ventures Investment Corp, GEA Systems North America, and GEA Mechanical Equipment US.
UPSIDE Foods told AgFunderNews last month: “We’ve made significant strides in scaling our cultivated meat production over the past several years. This North Carolina facility would accelerate the expansion of our production capacity and help us meet growing demand for UPSIDE chicken much sooner.”
*The case is Gray Construction Inc d.b.a. James N Gray Company (plaintiff) vs Future Meat Technologies Inc d.b.a. Believer Meats (defendant) and Meris Bank (intervenor/plaintiff) in North Carolina Business Court, a specialized division of the state’s Superior Court system. Case: 2025-CV-S5578.
An investor kit outlining the IP on offer can be obtained by emailing office@gissinlaw.co.il, subject to the signing of an NDA.
Further reading:
US receiver to liquidate Believer Meats’ factory and assets as Israeli trustee ringfences IP
Exclusive: Cultivated meat co Believer Meats sued by design build firm for $34m in unpaid bills
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