(Superior)– There’s a major merger being announced today (Thursday) in the bio fuels industry.
Green Plains Renewable Energy and VBV, LLC say are entering into a definitive merger agreement.
The combined companies will have an expected operating capacity of 330 million gallons of ethanol a year, making it one of the nation’s largest publicly-traded ethanol companies.
Green Plains Renewable Energy is building a 55 million gallon a year ethanol plant in Superior which is expected to go on line later this spring.
The company also owns the Superior Elevator along with an ethanol plant in Shenandoah and other grain storage facilities.
VBV holds majority interest in two companies building ethanol plants in Indiana and Tennessee. Those companies, Indiana Bio-Energy LLC and Ethanol Grain Processors, LLC will be merged into subsidiaries of Green Plains.
Officials with VBV and Green Plains Renewable Energy say pending shareholder and regulatory approval, the merger should be completed by late summer.
