Green Plains sells three ethanol plants to Valero

In Nebraska, Green Plains Inc. entered into an asset purchase agreement with Valero Renewable Fuels Company LLC to sell three of its ethanol plants located in Lakota, Iowa, Bluffton, Ind., and Riga, Mich. for $300 million in cash, plus approximately $28 million of working capital also paid in cash. The transaction involves 280 million gallons of nameplate capacity, or approximately 20% of the Company’s reported ethanol production capacity.

“The sale of these three ethanol plants demonstrates our commitment to strengthening our balance sheet and unlocking value for our shareholders,” said Todd Becker, president and chief executive officer of Green Plains. “As we stated in May, when we outlined our Portfolio Optimization Program, we would divest assets that enable us to execute our long-term strategic objectives. This sale is the first step towards our strategic objectives to prove the value of our assets and to significantly reduce or eliminate term debt by the end of 2018. We will continue with our optimization plan and anticipate communicating additional transactions in the near future.”

Green Plains Inc. also entered into an asset purchase agreement with Green Plains Partners LP (“Partnership”) to acquire the storage and transportation assets and the assignment of railcar leases associated with the Lakota, Bluffton and Riga ethanol plants. Both transactions are anticipated to close during the fourth quarter of 2018.