Luca Technologies abandons bio-based IPO

In California, Luca Technologies informed the SEC that “In light of current market conditions, the Company has determined not to proceed with the initial public offering” for which it filed an S-1 registration statement last June. Luca was one of four companies, including BrightSource and Enerkem, that had been expected to complete its IPO this month.

The company, backed by Kleiner Perkins and BASF, uses biotechnology to stimulate native microorganisms that reside in subsurface hydrocarbon deposits, such as coal, oil, and organic-rich shales, to accelerate the bioconversion of such resources into methane, the principal component of natural gas, which Luca plans to produce and sell using existing infrastructure.