Genting said the one million SGI shares represented the economic and voting interests of about 2% and 3% respectively of SGI as at Sept 12.

“SGI, under the leadership of Dr Venter, is dedicated to the research, development and commercialization of genomic-driven solutions for the production of clean and sustainable energy. With the continued drive towards renewable energy globally in mind, the proposed Acquisition represents an opportunity for Genting to invest and participate in the potential growth of the renewable energy sector,” it said.

The Genting Group is Malaysia’s leading multinational corporation, and, through its subsidiary Asiatic Development Berhad, has more than 80,000 hectares of palm oil plantation land in Malaysia and Indonesia.

In 2007, Synthetic Genomics Inc., and Asiatic Centre for Genome Technology Sdn Bhd (ACGT)—a wholly owned subsidiary of Asiatic Development Berhad—formed a multi-year, research and development joint venture to sequence and analyze the oil palm genome.

ACGT and its parent company’s chairman and chief executive, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, made equity investments in Synthetic Genomics as part of that deal. Financial details were not disclosed.

In May, ACGT and SGI announced they had completed a first draft assembly and annotation of the oil palm genome. The organizations also announced that they have made progress in sequencing and analyzing the jatropha genome. (Earlier post.)