AppHarvest secures $82 million investment to build Eastern Kentucky greenhouse

MOREHEAD, Ky. (WTVQ)-  AppHarvest has announced it has closed an $82 million deal with Equilibrium Capital to build the company’s 60-acre greenhouse in Morehead, Kentucky.

In addition, ValueAct Spring Fund has led the company’s Series A, with existing investor Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund also participating.

Construction will begin immediately on the company’s first controlled-environment agriculture facility in Appalachia with its opening planned for 2020.

In an $82 million all-cash deal, Equilibrium Capital’s Controlled Environment Foods Fund will
provide funding for the construction of AppHarvest’s 2,762,063-square-foot greenhouse.

AppHarvest’s first controlled-environment agriculture facility will be built in Morehead, Kentucky, and create 285 full-time permanent jobs, as well as 100 construction jobs. The facility will grow tomatoes and cucumbers to be distributed to America’s top grocers by distribution partner Mastronardi Produce.