The UPSIDE Foods bid of $50 million has been approved as the stalking horse offer for Believer Meats’ U.S. production facility, and court filings indicate other parties are evaluating competing proposals.
According to the North Carolina Business Court, the UPSIDE Foods bid establishes a baseline as BDO Consulting Group continues marketing the assets to solicit higher offers. In a motion seeking more time for initial bids, receiver Kevin Sink reported numerous conversations with interested parties and multiple site visits to the facility.
Cultivated meat production facility sale
Sink said some prospective buyers believed the original timeline was compressed. After discussions with BDO, he concluded that extending certain deadlines would improve the sale process. The court granted the extension, moving the deadline for initial bids from July 20 to August 10. If qualifying bids are received, an auction is set for August 17, followed by a sale hearing on August 20.
Future Meat Technologies Inc., doing business as Believer Meats, has raised nearly $400 million from backers that include ADM Ventures and Tyson Ventures. The company halted operations in December and entered general receivership in early February after the receiver secured court approval to sell its U.S. assets.
The sale package covers Believer Meats’ $150 million production site in Wilson, North Carolina, along with related equipment such as bioreactors, media and process tanks, centrifuges, freezing systems, wastewater systems, and automation and production-control systems. Some intangible assets, including permits and licenses, are included. The sale excludes selected equipment leased by CSC Leasing and Roberts Oxygen Company.
Intellectual property
On the intellectual property side, Israeli trustee Yoel Freilich extended the bid deadline from July 22 to August 5, citing strong interest from cultivated meat companies, investment firms, and other entities, and the complexity of due diligence. Freilich, who is coordinating with receiver Kevin Sink, did not say whether facility bidders are also pursuing the IP.
Marketing materials shared by Freilich state that Believer Meats’ value lies in its technology and know-how for scaling cultivated meat production, including cell lines, media logic, bioreactor operation, perfusion strategy, centrifuge integration, automation recipes, harvest and wash procedures, and process data developed in Israel and transferred into large-facility design.
Gray Construction and Ameris Bank first in line for proceeds
In a lawsuit filed last year, Gray Construction alleged it is owed $36.4 million for design and construction at the North Carolina plant. Ameris Bank is also a senior secured lender, having extended a $25 million term loan secured by a first-priority 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.
The case is identified as Gray Construction Inc. d.b.a. James N Gray Company v. Future Meat Technologies Inc. d.b.a. Believer Meats, with Meris Bank listed as intervenor/plaintiff, in the North Carolina Business Court, a division of the state’s Superior Court system. Case: 2025-CV-S5578.