Bill Gates to unload 21 percent stake in Pacific Ethanol; shares plummet 22 percent

An investment company owned by Bill Gates, Cascade Investments, will file to convert its preferred shares in Pacific Ethanol to common stock and register a potential sale.

Cascade owns 21 percent of Pacific Ethanol and has lost more than $60 million on the stock since August. Cascade invested $84 million in 2005.

Pacific Ethanol reported net sales up 93 percent to $118 million for the third quarter, but the company recorded a loss of $3.8 million, or 7 cents per share, because of high corn prices and low ethanol prices. The company’s shares fell 93 cents — or 11.9 percent — to a 52-week low of $6.89 on Friday.

The company has lost nearly $300 million in market value since August 27, after a series of downgrades and selling pressure resulting from the vanishing margins in ethanol production. The company has recently increased its capacity, and is expected to experience an improvement in results from rising ethanol prices and economies of scale.

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