NEW YORK and PLANO, Texas, Jan. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stryve Foods LLC, an emerging healthy snack platform disrupting traditional snacking categories, and Andina Acquisition Corp. III (NASDAQ: “ANDA”), a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company, announced today a definitive agreement for a business combination that would result in Stryve becoming a public company. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will be renamed Stryve Foods, Inc. and is expected to remain listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker SNAX.

In connection with the business combination announcement, the companies executed definitive agreements with institutional investors for an oversubscribed common stock PIPE of $42.5 million at $10.00 per share. Stryve simultaneously has secured a $10.6 million bridge note offering with accredited and institutional investors with funds being made available immediately for general working capital purposes. The bridge note offering will convert into common stock immediately prior to the business combination closing.

Stryve Foods is on a mission to help Americans snack better and live happier, more fulfilling lives by giving Americans new snacking options that are high in protein, low in sugar with no artificial ingredients. Co-CEO and Chief Marketing Officer, Jaxie Alt, stated, “Eating healthier is a long-term consumer trend in America that is here to stay – yet most of the snacks in America are highly processed foods with little true nutritional value. Our Stryve products are a revolution in snacking that Americans are looking for…snacks that are high protein, no to low sugar, with nothing artificial AND they taste amazing.”

Stryve is currently disrupting the meat snack category through its air-dried meat products including biltong, which originated in South Africa, and carne seca, which originated in Latin America. The process of air-drying meat vs. cooking, as is done with beef jerky, yields a product that has 40-50% more protein per serving than beef jerky. Unlike beef jerky, Stryve’s all natural meat snack products are made with 100% beef, are never cooked and contain no sugar, monosodium glutamate (MSG), gluten, nitrates, nitrites or preservatives and are Keto and Paelo diet friendly. Based on protein density and sugar content, Stryve’s portfolio of snack products are one of the healthiest meat snacks available today.

Stryve sells several brands of air-dried meat including Stryve and Kalahari, which it acquired in mid-December of 2020. The Company is bringing new users to the meat snack category, including Healthy Snack Seekers, Women and Hispanic Consumers. According to an MRI-Simmons 2018 Consumer Segmentation, of the 183 million healthy snack seekers in the US, only 25% purchased a meat snack during the year.

Stryve Investment Highlights:

• Emerging healthy snacking platform. Stryve is aligned with a consumer shift in snacking toward better-for-you products as it focuses on manufacturing and marketing highly differentiated healthy snacks that disrupt traditional snacking categories.
• Attractive financial profile with strong growth potential for gross revenue, gross margin, and adjusted EBITDA.
• Unique manufacturing capabilities. According to Stryve Chairman and Co-Founder Ted Casey, Stryve’s manufacturing facility is the largest USDA approved air-dried meat manufacturing facility in America and USDA approval requirements create a high barrier to entry. The Company’s current infrastructure can support a $200+ million revenue business with limited additional capital expenditures.
• Large and growing distribution footprint. Stryve currently utilizes 10+ unique sale channels and 70,000+ total points of distribution across a strong retail footprint. Stryve intends to increase penetration in existing channels while expanding SKUs on shelf.
• Seasoned management team with 50 years of combined CPG experience. Collectively, the Company’s leadership has deep experience in growing profitable businesses across many segments leading to attractive returns for investors in those businesses.
• Attractive valuation. Based on 2021 and 2022 projections, the parties believe the business combination is attractively valued.

Joe Oblas, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Stryve, stated, “We firmly believe that Stryve is well-positioned to capitalize on favorable better snacking trends as well as the considerable whitespace for health-driven innovation in what remains a large, fragmented category with underdeveloped channels. Our intention is to accelerate Stryve’s growth trajectory by capitalizing on the strengths of our existing business, while staying true to our mission of helping Americans snack better and live happier, more fulfilling lives by disrupting traditional snacking categories. We are excited to be partnering with Andina as we transition into the public markets and are committed to enhancing value for all of our stakeholders.”

Luke Weil, Chairman of Andina, and Julio A. Torres, CEO of Andina, stated, “Stryve is a unique and compelling investment opportunity that is changing the way Americans snack and we look forward to joining with them on their mission. They have developed a unique product in beef biltong that appeals to healthy snack seekers, many of whom are new to the vastly underpenetrated meat snack category. Further, they have the experience and know how to disrupt other traditional snacking categories as well. With a leadership team that has proven themselves in operating and scaling profitable businesses along with significant tailwinds for functional and nutritious snacking, we believe Stryve is poised for rapid growth and value creation.”

Channing Tatum, actor, producer and Stryve investor, added, “People are searching for healthier, better tasting options for the way they snack, and Stryve raises the bar on both fronts. I’m thrilled to be an investor and to support their mission to help America snack better, and on a personal note I love their products, which I enjoy when I’m training, camping, or just hanging at home.”

Another Stryve investor, rookie phenom Los Angeles Quarterback Justin Herbert, states, “Stryve is the kind of healthy, high-protein snack that I look for to fuel my pre- and post- workout. I’m excited I’ve joined forces with a brand that creates a product that’s not only good for you, but delicious, too.”

Transaction Overview
The transaction will be funded by a combination of Andina’s cash held in its trust account (after redemptions by its public stockholders in connection with the closing), a full equity roll-over from existing Stryve ownership, and proceeds from a private placement of $42.5 million of common stock at $10.00 per share that will close concurrently with the business combination. In connection with the business combination, Stryve raised $10.6 million through the sale of unsecured convertible bridge notes that will be funded immediately and will convert into equity of the combined company at the closing of the business combination.

The transaction implies a post-money enterprise valuation for the combined company of approximately $170 million at closing, or 3.7x/1.8x projected 2021/2022 estimated revenue. It is anticipated that the combined company will have $58 million of net cash proceeds.

In the business combination, Andina will re-domesticate from the Cayman Islands and become a Delaware corporation and change its name to “Stryve Foods, Inc.”, and acquire Stryve’s business in an “Up-C structure” based on a pre-money enterprise value of Stryve of $130 million.

The board of directors of Andina and Stryve’s board of managers have approved the transaction. The transaction will require the approval of the stockholders of Andina, and is subject to other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.

The combined company will continue to be led by Joe Oblas, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Jaxie Alt, Co-CEO & Chief Marketing Officer and their executive leadership team including Alex Hawkins, Chief Operating Officer, and Bruce Boettner, Chief Sales Officer.

• Prior to co-founding Stryve, Mr. Oblas founded and successfully exited ProSupps, one of the fastest growing sports nutrition brands. He also co-founded Juice Stop, which grew to 150 stores in 22 states prior to exiting the business.
• Prior to joining Stryve, Ms. Alt spent 17+ years at Dr Pepper Snapple Group where she served as Co-Chief Marketing Officer, managing $10+ billion in retail sales and $300+ million in marketing spend.
• Prior to joining Stryve, Mr. Hawkins was an operationally focused Principal investor at Rosewood Private Investments. He is a CFA Charterholder and previously spent time in asset management and process consulting.
• Prior to joining Stryve, Mr. Boettner served as Vice President of Sales at Humm Kombucha and previously spent 14+ years at Kashi, where he served as sales lead and scaled revenue to over $400 million.

Advisors
Cowen is serving as financial advisor to Andina. Cowen and Craig-Hallum Capital Group are acting as co-capital markets advisors to Andina. Craig-Hallum is serving as sole placement agent in connection with the private placement and bridge offerings. Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP is serving as legal advisor to Andina. Foley & Lardner LLP is serving as legal advisor to Stryve.

About Stryve Foods LLC
Stryve Foods is an emerging healthy snacking platform with a mission to help Americans snack better and live happier, better lives. The Company is focused on manufacturing and marketing highly differentiated healthy snacks that disrupt traditional snacking categories.

Stryve is currently building a tribe of early adopters consisting of healthy snack seekers, many of whom are new to the meat snack category. Stryve Beef Biltong is a delicious, good-for-you snack made from 100% American beef – high in protein with 0g sugar and made from nothing artificial. Founded by fitness and nutrition enthusiasts, Stryve Biltong is on a mission to help America snack better. Biltong is a process for air-drying meat that originated centuries ago in South Africa and actually boasts more protein in every bite than traditional jerky. It is made simply –with beef, vinegar and spices – and served in slices, sticks or slabs. Stryve Beef Biltong comes in a variety of delicious flavors, including Original, Cajun, Hickory, Mesquite BBQ, Teriyaki, Zesty Garlic, Hatch Green Chile, and Spicy Peri. Stryve is available on https://stryve.com/, Amazon and over 17,000 retail stores across the U.S. and Canada.

About Andina Acquisition Corp. III
Andina Acquisition Corp. III (NASDAQ: ANDA, ANDAW, and ANDAU) is a blank check company for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. For information about Andina, please visit http://www.andinaacquisition.com/