Virent and Tesoro announced Sept. 6 that they have reached an agreement for Tesoro to become Virent’s new strategic owner. The acquisition will support the scale-up and commercialization of Virent’s BioForming technology for the production of low carbon biobased fuels and chemicals. As a result of the acquisition, Virent will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Tesoro and remain in Madison, Wisconsin.

The companies initiated a strategic relationship in January, and have worked together to establish a forward plan to scale-up the technology and reduce deployment risks to meet the increasing demands for high-quality, renewable fuels and chemicals.

“The Tesoro announcement is a critical milestone for Virent to establish a pathway to commercialization with a recognized leader in refining, marketing and logistics,” said Lee Edwards, CEO of Virent. “While we will maintain our entrepreneurial spirit and culture, Virent will also benefit from the strategic support and capability of Tesoro, capturing the best of both companies. We are excited to start the next phase of work with Tesoro, along with our other strategic partners.”