Green Plains acquires two ethanol plants in US

Green Plains Renewable Energy has announced the completion of its acquisition of two 110 MMgy ethanol plants previously owned by Biofuel Energy.

The transaction includes the Pioneer Trail Energy plant in Wood River, Nebraska, and the Buffalo Lake Energy facility in Fairmont, Minnesota, both US. Green Plains purchased the plants from an entity composed of BioFuel Energy's lender group.

According to the US Securities and Exchange commission, Green Plains acquired the plants for $108 million (€79 million).
'Our team worked to quickly complete this acquisition and will now move to integrate these two plants into our platform as seamlessly as possible,' says Todd Becker, Green Plains president and CEO. 'We will also continue to execute on our strategy to expand and diversify our business and to build long-term shareholder value.'

Green Plains spokesman Jim Stark says the company intends to restart the Fairmont plant, which was made idle in 2012, before the end of the year.

With the acquisition of the Wood River and Buffalo Lake plants complete, Green Plains now owns 12 ethanol plants with more than 1 billion gallons of combined capacity.