Green Plains to dispose of agribusiness assets in USD-133m deal

Oct 29, 2012 - US ethanol producer Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc (NASDAQ:GPRE) today said it had agreed to sell agribusiness facilities and certain related working capital to The Andersons Inc (NASDAQ:ANDE) for USD 133.1 million (EUR 103.2m).

The price includes the assumption of term debt of about USD 28.3 million.

Green Plains will sell to the US agribusiness company 12 grain elevators in Iowa and Tennessee, representing about 32.6 million bushels of storage capacity. Through the deal, it is disposing of 83% of its agribusiness grain storage capacity as well as all of its agronomy and retail petroleum activities.

Green Plains also thanks to the liquidation of retained working capital it expected to see about USD 86.7 million in net proceeds before the repayment of around USD 85.2 million under a revolving loan and inventory financing arrangements. Net cash proceeds are estimated at USD 103.8 million.

Todd Becker, Green Plains president and chief executive, said the sale was designed to opportunistically realise shareholder value and did not mean that the company was exiting US agriculture. Becker noted the transaction would generate over USD 100 million of cash and cut debt by more than USD 113 million.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2012, contingent on customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.775)

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