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Danimer Scientific

Biodegradable plastics (PHA) / climate materialsUSA
New to Unitard
💀 Dead / Bankrupt
Peak $4.91 BillionToday
~-100%
from peak
  1. 🦄
    Became a unicorn
    Dec 2020
  2. 📈
    Peak valuation
    $4.91 Billion ’21
  3. 💔
    Became a Unitard
    Dec 2021
  4. 💸
    Last valuation
    Wiped out
Capital raised
$960M
Total raised
$151K/day
Raised per day

Total raised averaged per day over approximately 17.5 years from founding to bankruptcy or shutdown. This is not measured cash burn. Methodology

Funding: SEC filings: $410M SPAC trust + PIPE (2020), $138M warrant exercises (2021), $240M convertible notes (2021), $130M term loan (2023), about $41M pre-merger equity (2019-20)
Current status
Chapter 11 (filed Mar 18, 2025, D. Del., Case 25-10518) for an orderly wind-down; assets sold to Teknor Apex in a court-approved sale (May 2025); estate renamed DSI Winddown, Inc.

The rise & fall

10 moments · 2004–2026

The key moments, with employee sentiment along the way.

2004
Founded in Bainbridge, Georgia
Danimer starts by formulating bioplastics from polylactic acid (PLA) for customers that want compostable packaging.
SEC (S-1)
2007
Buys PHA technology from Procter & Gamble
The deal brings in PHA, a plastic that bacteria make from vegetable oil and that biodegrades in soil and water. It becomes the Nodax brand.
SEC (S-1)
Dec 29 ’20
Lists on the NYSE through a SPAC
The merger with Live Oak Acquisition Corp closes, bringing a $200M trust and a $210M PIPE. Stockanalysis puts the year-end market value at $2.02B.
SEC (S-1)
Feb 12 ’21
The peak: about $4.9B on the NYSE$4.91B
Shares close at $57.81; with 84,971,601 shares outstanding, the market value is about $4.9B.
SEC (424B3)
Dec 21 ’21
$240M of convertible notes
Danimer issues 3.25% convertible senior notes due 2026 to fund its expansion.
SEC (8-K)
Dec 31 ’21
Ends 2021 below $1B$855M
Stockanalysis puts the year-end market value at $854.9M, down from $2.02B a year earlier.
Stockanalysis
Dec 30 ’24
NYSE suspends trading
The exchange moves to delist the stock after its average market value stays below the $15M minimum; trading moves to the OTC market.
SEC (8-K)
Mar 18 ’25
Files Chapter 11 — joins the Unitard Club 💔
Danimer files in Delaware for an orderly wind-down, with about $400.8M of debt accelerated, while trying to sell its plants.
SEC (8-K)
May 2025
Teknor Apex buys the assets$19M
No rival bids arrive and the court approves the sale to the stalking-horse bidder; Green Chemicals Blog puts the price at $19M.
Green Chemicals Blog
From the inside · Glassdoor reviews, 2021–26
Glassdoor reviewers described long shifts, heavy overtime and poor work-life balance from 2021; after the 2025 bankruptcy, several blamed leadership’s financial management. Average ratings fell from 3.6 (2020–21) to 2.3 (2024–26).
$4.91Bof peak value erased · 17 years

💬 entries paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor ↗; dated facts carry their source.

How it happened

Danimer Scientific made biodegradable plastics in Bainbridge, Georgia, from a business formed in 2004. Its main product was PHA, a resin made by bacteria fed on vegetable oil, using technology bought from Procter & Gamble in 2007.

It went public through a merger with the SPAC Live Oak Acquisition Corp that closed in December 2020, bringing a $200M trust and a $210M PIPE. Its shares closed at $57.81 on February 12, 2021, which with 85.0M shares outstanding implies a market value of about $4.9B.

By the end of 2021 the value had fallen below $1B. The NYSE suspended trading on December 30, 2024, and Danimer filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware on March 18, 2025, to wind down. Teknor Apex bought its assets, for $19M according to Green Chemicals Blog. After the bankruptcy, former employees blamed leadership’s financial management, though many praised the product and its environmental aim.

Source: Never a private unicorn; peak is a traded market value after the Dec 2020 Live Oak Acquisition Corp SPAC merger. Danimer 424B3 prospectus (Feb 16, 2021): Feb 12, 2021 close $57.81 and 84,971,601 shares outstanding = about $4.91B. Stockanalysis (S&P Global data): $2.02B at Dec 31, 2020; $854.9M at Dec 31, 2021. S-1 (Jan 28, 2021): business formed 2004; PHA technology bought from Procter & Gamble in 2007; $200M SPAC trust plus $210M PIPE. 8-K (Dec 21, 2021): $240M 3.25% convertible notes due 2026. 8-K (Dec 31, 2024): NYSE suspended trading Dec 30, 2024. 8-K (Mar 18, 2025): Chapter 11 in D. Del., Case 25-10518 (MFW), for an orderly winddown, about $400.8M of debt accelerated. Docket (Dkt. 305): sale hearing May 12, 2025 after the auction was cancelled with no competing bids. Green Chemicals Blog (June 11, 2025): Teknor Apex bought the assets for $19M (single source; price not shown in the advisers' releases).

Who ran it

  • Stephen Croskrey
    chairman & CEO (led at peak; CEO since 2016)
    No public profile matched

Disclosed investors (6)

Historical funding participation; lists may be incomplete and do not establish current ownership or investor losses.

* Lead in a funding round · Crunchbase ↗ · 2026-10-22 · Methodology · Leaderboard

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