Pendrell Buys Into Provitro

On Monday, intellectual-property investor Pendrellannounced that it has purchased a 68% stake in agricultural technology firm Provitro Biosciences.

Privately owned Provitro, formerly named Booshoot LLC, owns a proprietary process for "commercial-scale plant propagation" (a.k.a. "farming" -- but on an industrial scale). Pendrell Chief Executive Officer Ben Wolff describes the process, which he termed "micropropagation," as helping to get plants growing "in greater quantities, in less time, at lower cost, and with less impact on the environment than traditional methods."

Provitro has already used the process to grow ornamental bamboo for its retail customers Home Depot and Costco , branding the bamboo grown through its process as "Bamboo That Behaves." The company has a third major customer in tissue maker Kimberly-Clark , which is looking into using Provitro-grown bamboo as raw material for its tissue products.

Financial terms of Pendrell's investment in Provitro were not disclosed, but Pendrell did note that it doesn't expect the event to affect its financial statements or cash position in the near term -- suggesting that the acquisition will not produce much profit, nor will it cost much, at least not immediately.

The article Pendrell Buys Into Provitro originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Costco Wholesale, Home Depot, and Kimberly-Clark and owns shares of Costco Wholesale. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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