Amyris

Amyris was founded in 2003 and went public in 2010.¹ The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023 with roughly $1.15 billion in debt.¹¹⁵ Amyris emerged from bankruptcy in May 2024 as a privately held company focused on business-to-business operations.¹¹⁵

Timeline

Money raised

Amyris raised $200 million through a private investment in public equity (PIPE) at $3.00 per common share in June 2020.⁹¹⁰¹³ The PIPE included 49% common stock and 51% preferred stock.⁹¹⁰¹³ Amyris expected to use the PIPE proceeds to repay approximately $61 million of outstanding indebtedness, lowering total debt to about $162 million.⁹¹⁰¹³ Of the debt reduction, $24 million was from conversions to equity.⁹¹⁰¹³ Amyris secured a commitment for $190 million of debtor-in-possession financing during bankruptcy.¹⁴¹⁵ The DIP facility was from affiliated lender Euagore, LLC.¹⁵ Amyris listed approximately $1.15 billion in funded debt in its bankruptcy filing.¹⁵ The consumer beauty brands sold for less than $30 million in aggregate.¹⁵ The core Lab-to-Market technology platform failed to attract a qualifying bid above a $255.8 million reserve price.¹⁵ The confirmed plan eliminated roughly $1 billion in debt, nearly 80% of the prepetition capital structure.¹⁵

Investors named in the sources: Foris Ventures¹¹⁵, John Doerr¹, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation¹, Total⁷, Jefferies LLC⁹¹⁰¹³, Cowen and Company LLC⁹¹⁰¹³, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.⁹¹⁰¹³, Euagore, LLC¹⁵.

What happened

Amyris was founded in 2003 out of research at the University of California, Berkeley by a group including Vincent Martin, Jack Newman, Neil Renninger, and Kinkead Reiling, with foundational scientific work from synthetic biology pioneer Jay Keasling.¹ Amyris engineered yeast to produce specialty molecules via fermentation.¹ It initially gained attention for producing an anti-malarial ingredient called artemisinin with backing from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.¹ Amyris later expanded into ingredients for flavors, fragrances, cosmetics, and food.¹ Amyris went public in 2010.¹

In 2012, Amyris secured additional financing to boost working capital.¹¹ In December 2013, Amyris and Total announced a joint venture to form Total Amyris BioSolutions in Brazil to make renewable jet fuel.⁷ Amyris aggressively moved into consumer brands such as Biossance, Pipette, JVN Hair, and Rose Inc.¹ In 2018, Amyris reported poor financial results, which it attributed to the volatility of the Vitamin E market.¹⁷ In 2019, Amyris disclosed that it would be unable to timely file its annual report due to significant time and resources devoted to accounting for transactions with Koninklijke DSM N.V.¹⁷

In June 2020, Amyris raised $200 million through a private investment in public equity (PIPE) at $3.00 per share.⁹¹⁰¹³ The PIPE was made by a consortium of institutional and accredited investors, approximately 70% new investors and 30% existing investors.⁹¹⁰¹³ Amyris expected to use the PIPE proceeds to repay approximately $61 million of outstanding indebtedness, lowering total debt to about $162 million.⁹¹⁰¹³ In October 2021, the SEC charged Amyris with improper revenue recognition.¹⁸ Amyris filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on August 9, 2023.¹⁴¹⁵

The bankruptcy filing listed approximately $1.15 billion in funded debt.¹⁵ The filing followed a management transition, workforce reductions totaling roughly 30%, and an Audit Committee investigation into supply-chain administration irregularities dating to 2021.¹⁵ Amyris secured a commitment for $190 million of debtor-in-possession financing from affiliated lender Euagore, LLC.¹⁴¹⁵ The DIP facility carried a built-in toggle requiring the debtors to pursue a consensual restructuring within 35 days or pivot to an all-asset sale.¹⁵ Seven consumer brands were auctioned and sold individually.¹⁵

The consumer beauty brands sold for less than $30 million in aggregate.¹⁵ The core Lab-to-Market technology platform failed to attract a qualifying bid above a $255.8 million reserve price.¹⁵ The debtors reorganized around the retained platform as 'Amyris 2.0.'¹⁵ The bankruptcy court confirmed the Fourth Amended Joint Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization on February 7, 2024.¹⁴ The confirmed plan eliminated roughly $1 billion in debt, nearly 80% of the prepetition capital structure.¹⁵

The plan transferred 100% of reorganized equity to the Foris secured lenders.¹⁵ The plan became effective on May 7, 2024.¹⁴¹⁵ Amyris emerged as a privately held company with ownership transferred to a group of lenders tied to Foris Ventures.¹ Kathy Fortmann took the helm as CEO on May 7, 2024.¹ Amyris ditched its consumer brands and associated infrastructure, renegotiated some contracts, and returned to its roots as a pure biotech company.¹

Amyris closed 2025 a year ahead of plan in terms of the top and bottom line, according to CEO Kathy Fortmann.¹ Amyris' burn rate in all of 2025 was what it was previously in a month, according to Fortmann.¹ A final decree closed all bankruptcy cases except one trust-administration entity in December 2024.¹⁵

Legal outcomes

• chargedThe SEC charged Amyris with improper revenue recognition.¹⁸
• filedA class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of those who purchased or otherwise acquired Amyris securities between March 15, 2018 and March 19, 2019.¹⁷
• filedThe complaint alleged that Amyris lacked sufficient resources to accurately account for certain transactions and had a material weakness in internal controls over financial reporting.¹⁷
• filedAmyris secured creditor Lavvan appealed the DIP financing to the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.¹⁶

Sources

1. Amyris CEO on the post-bankruptcy re-boot: ‘We’re a drastically different company’, AgFunderNews, 2026-05-28
2. Amyris looks to emerge from bankruptcy under plan ..., bizjournals.com, Jan 22, 20
7. The World's Greenest Oil Company?, theatlantic.com, Dec 6, 201
9. Amyris Raises $200 Million From Private Placement, synbiobeta.com, Jun 7, 202
10. Amyris Raises $200 Million From Private Placement, prnewswire.com, 2020-06-04
11. Amyris secures additional financing to boost working capital | Biomass Magazine, biomassmagazine.com
13. Amyris raises $200 million, https://www.indianchemicalnews.com/
14. Amyris, Inc., et al., cases.stretto.com
15. Amyris Emerges from Bankruptcy After Consumer Brand Sales, ElevenFlo, 2026-03-16
16. U.S. Bankruptcy: Secured Creditor Lavvan Appeals Amyris DIP to District Court, CreditSights, 2023-11-02
17. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP: Investor Class Action Filed Against Amyris, Inc. (AMRS) for Securities Fraud Violations | New Cases | Kessler Topaz, Kessler Topaz
18. SEC Charges Amyris with Improper Revenue Recognition ..., sec.gov, Oct 15, 20

How this case file was put together

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