The British Columbia firm that engineered apples not to turn brown after they've been bruised or sliced has been bought by a U.S. company for $41 million.
Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc. of Summerland, B.C., received approval just weeks ago from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to market its Arctic Golden and Arctic Granny Smith to growers south of the border.
The company's sale was announced Friday in a joint news release it issued with Intrexon Corporation, a publicly traded synthetic biology company headquartered in Germantown, Md.
The deal means 45 investors in Okanagan Specialty Fruits will share $31 million worth of Intrexon stock and $10 million in cash, and the company's founder and orchardist Neal Carter will remain on-board.
Okanagan Specialty Fruits currently has 20,000 small trees ready to be exported to the U.S..
