A buyer has finally emerged for the Merit Functional Foods plant in Winnipeg, Canada, more than two years after receivers were called in.
The state-of-the-art plant protein processing facility, which opened in 2021, went into receivership in March 2023, with then-CEO Ryan Bracken blaming factors from higher raw materials costs and rising interest rates to the “risk appetite from lenders and/or investors drying up” and “commissioning of a novel product taking 12 times longer than promised.”
According to court documents filed by receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a promising offer was submitted in summer 2023, but “failed to result in completion of a definitive asset purchase agreement.”
On April 29, 2025, PwC “entered an asset sale purchase agreement” with an unnamed company registered in Manitoba covering the land, buildings, equipment, and other assets, said PwC, which is now seeking the court’s approval to seal the deal.
“The proposed sale is the result of several rounds of the sale process wherein the Merit plant remained unsold after two years, despite being widely marketed at the outset of the receivership proceedings, and numerous expressions of interest from various parties.”
In a filing seeking court approval to disburse funds to lenders including Farm Credit Canada and Export Development Canada, PwC also asked for documents revealing the value of the deal to be sealed until it closes.
No money for unsecured creditors
Plant protein specialist Burcon was the leading shareholder in Merit with a 31.6% stake, while Bunge acquired a 25% stake in mid-2020. At around the same time, the Canadian government invested almost C$100 million ($72m), including C$9.2 million ($6.7m) from Protein Industries Canada and C$90 million ($65m) in debt financing from Export Development Canada and Farm Credit Canada.
According to a March 6, 2023, report from PwC, Merit owed these lenders C$58.6 million ($42.4m) and C$36.5 million ($26.4m) respectively.
“Taking into consideration the anticipated interim distribution, the lenders will suffer a significant shortfall on the amount owed by the debtors,” noted PwC in documents filed with the court last week. “Accordingly, there will be no distribution to the debtors’ unsecured creditors.”
Burcon Nutrascience—which had tried to put together a deal to acquire the Merit plant shortly after receivers were called in—recently announced plans to start commercial-scale production of several plant proteins at a facility in Galesburg, Illinois.
