JASPER COUNTY | Iroquois Bio-Energy, the first and only ethanol production plant in Northwest Indiana, has been sold to Australian investment firm Babcock & Brown Ltd.
The sale for an undisclosed amount closed late last week, Iroquois General Manager Keith Gibson said.
"We're now owned by a different company," Gibson said.
Iroquois Bio-Energy will retain its name, and no changes are expected to the plant's operation or work force of 34, Gibson said, adding, "It should be business as usual."
Babcock & Brown entered into an agreement in April to acquire the $66 million, 44,000-square-foot facility built on nearly 70 acres east of Rensselaer.
The Iroquois Bio-Energy acquisition was Babcock & Brown's fourth investment in the U.S. ethanol industry.
A company spokesman did not respond to a request for comment by press time Monday.
Babcock & Brown said in an April news release that its interest in the plant stemmed from its market location, production technology and "valuable contractual relationships" within the industry.
The plant went online in January with capacity for producing 40 million gallons per year of the alternative fuel, using about 35,000 bushels a day of locally grown corn.
Area corn growers were some of the early investors in the plant, originally conceived of as farmer owned co-op with investor farmers committing to delivering corn.
The format changed to a limited liability company in 2002 in order to open investment to non-farmers. Big-money investors included New Hampshire based New Energy Capital.
Financing the project took more than four years.
The acquisition by Babcock & Brown was a 100-percent buyout, with all 286 Iroquois Bio-Energy unit holders getting cash, rather than stock, Iroquois board secretary John Bryant has said.
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