In the United States (US), Pacific Ethanol, Inc (PEI), a leading producer of specialty alcohols and essential ingredients, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Liberty Basin, LLC to sell 134 acres, rail loop, and grain handling assets at its Pacific Ethanol Magic Valley plant in Burley, Idaho (ID) for US$10 million in cash.
According to a statement, Pacific Ethanol will retain the ethanol production facility and terminal on the remaining 25 acres and will enter into certain agreements with Liberty Basin, LLC for delivery of grain to the plant. The sale is expected to close on or before November 30, 2020, subject to customary closing conditions.
The sale of real estate and grain handling assets at our Magic Valley facility to Liberty Basin, LLC further demonstrates our commitment to strengthening our balance sheet through monetizing idled assets at a value accretive to shareholders and repurposing the production assets, said Mike Kandris, CEO, Pacific Ethanol.
Operating three distilleries and a specialty yeast production facility at its Pekin, Illinois (IL) campus and four distilleries in the Western states of Idaho (ID), Oregon (OR), and California (CA), Pacific Ethanol is a leading producer of specialty alcohols, carbon dioxide (CO2), corn oil, animal feed, and essential ingredients. All specialty alcohol products as well as fuel-grade ethanol for third parties is marketed via its subsidiary Kinergy Marketing LLC.
As we have said in our recently announced strategic realignment toward a business focus on specialty alcohols and essential ingredients, Pacific Ethanol will repurpose or sell its idled plants. This sale is a first step toward the objective to add value to our Magic Valley plant. We will continue with our strategic realignment plan and anticipate communicating additional transactions in the future, said Mike Kandris.
