According to the company, the transaction involved a membership interest purchase, whereby Green Plains acquired 51% of Blendstar from Bioverda US Holdings for $9 million. Blendstar currently operates terminal facilities in Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Nashville, Knoxville, Louisville and Birmingham.
Additionally, Blendstar has announced commitments to build terminals in Collins, Mississippi, and Shreveport, Louisiana. Together with Blendstar, Green Plains expects to produce, market and distribute approximately 635 million gallons of ethanol annually.
Blendstar’s aim is to locate facilities in mid-sized metropolitan areas where biofuels are underutilized. Generally, the sites are in close proximity to major fuel terminals and transportation corridors. The facilities are fully automated and provide some of the efficient blending and loading operations available.
Todd Becker, CEO of Green Plains, said: “Through Blendstar, we are making an investment in downstream biofuel enterprises. The Blendstar platform allows customers to source, store and blend ethanol and biodiesel to meet demand, now and in the future.”
Green Plains, based in Omaha, Nebraska, is a vertically-integrated, low-cost ethanol producer. The company’s ethanol segment operates four ethanol plants in Iowa, Indiana and Tennessee with a combined expected operating capacity of 330 million gallons of ethanol per year. Green Plains also operates an independent third-party ethanol marketing service, with marketing capacity of 305 million gallons of per year, claims the company.
