Canadian resource financier Ned Goodman is joining the board of
Urban Barns Foods Inc. (
OTCQB: URBF,
Stock Forum), a Calgary startup company that is using proprietary technology to produce vegetables in controlled indoor environments, a move that opens the door to growing veggies just about anywhere.
The announcement of Goodman’s involvement had the predictable market reaction, sending the stock price up 51.5% to 5 cents Monday, leaving the company with a market cap of $7.7 million, based on 153.5 million shares outstanding. The 52-week range is 16.5 cents and 0.01 cents.
Goodman has been named to the board just days after Dundee Agricultural Corp. emerged as the sole subscriber in a $1 million private placement comprised of 67.6 million Urban Barns shares, priced at $0.0148 per share.
The agreement terms gave Dundee the right to appoint two directors to the board of Urban Barns. Dundee will also have the right to maintain its pro rate share position in any future financings.
As President, CEO of
Dundee Corp. (
TSX: T.DC.A,
Stock Forum), Goodman has an established reputation as one of Canada’s most successful investment counselors. He is chief investment officer of Dundee Corp.’s investment fund management subsidiary, Goodman & Co, Investment Counsel Inc.
Urban Barns’ “controlled environment growing” technique involves the use of the entire cubic space of a building. Thus its “cubic farming” system can be set up just about anywhere, reducing the cost of transportation to consumers.
The company says this means that it can produce food in the desert (provided a minimum amount of humidity is available) or even in the South Pole.
Vegetables can be grown in modular units, which can be stacked vertically or aligned horizontally.
The company’s motto is “purely fresh, naturally tasty, and completely healthy.”