Lusix Loses $65m as Lab Grown Prices Plunge
September 10, 24
(IDEX Online) - Lusix, the lab grown company facing insolvency, has lost $65m since 2022 according to a court-appointed trustee in Israel.
The company has been struggling as competition from India drives down lab grown prices, but this is the first time the scale of its losses has been revealed.
Attorney Shay Bar Nir, appointed by Israel's Central District Court as trustee for Lusix, said the company had reported a $22.8m loss in 2022, $30.7m in 2023, and $11.5m in the first half of 2024. In 2021 it reported a $551,000 profit.
He is seeking the court's permission to sell the company or its assets to the highest bidder.
Lusix was founded in 2016 by Israeli billionaire Benny Landa, the "father of commercial digital printing" who sold his company Indigo to HP for $830m.
The company blames a 90 per cent drop in lab grown prices for its demise, together with a crowded marketplace and the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic.
"There is significant value in continuing the company's operations and reaching an agreed-upon debt settlement to repay its obligations within a few weeks," said Bar Nir in a report quoted by the business news website Calcalist.
He cautioned against breaking up the company because its strength lies in its expertise, employee knowledge, and cutting-edge technologies.
Pic shows Benny Landa and Lusix diamonds.