Bad Tomatoes at SPAC’s Indoor Farm Empire Send Shares Tumbling
- AppHarvest plunges to all-time low after SPAC reverse-merger
- Lower quality and higher costs hinder start-up’s production
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AppHarvest Inc.’s early efforts at indoor farming aren’t bearing financial fruit for shareholders of the SPAC that bought the startup in February.
The stock tumbled as much as 40% on Wednesday to as little as $7.20, well below the typical $10 starting point for “special-purpose acquisition companies,” after a disappointing second-quarter report. The recent crop at AppHarvest’s first facility in Kentucky was marred by historically low tomato prices, and sales were hurt by lower-than-expected quality, the company said.