Bridgepoint-owned Energy Capital Partners (ECP) has agreed to sell US low-carbon biofuels producer Harvestone Low Carbon Partners (HLCP) to Nasdaq-listed agribusiness The Andersons for an enterprise value of $915m (€815m).
HLCP operates three corn-based ethanol biorefineries across North Dakota and Indiana with a combined capacity of nearly 220m gallons per year.
Under ECP’s ownership, the platform was developed into one of the first commercial-scale ethanol carbon capture and sequestration platforms in the US.
Matt Delaney, partner at ECP, said: “HLCP demonstrates what active ownership can achieve in the energy transition. In less than four years, we partnered with an outstanding management team to bring one of the first US ethanol carbon capture and sequestration projects online and built a pipeline of attractive growth opportunities across the platform.
“We are proud of what the HLCP team has built and are confident The Andersons is the right owner to carry that work forward.”
Ben Condon, principal at ECP, said: “HLCP has shown that carbon capture at ethanol plants works at commercial scale. We are grateful for the HLCP team’s exceptional operating and development expertise and tireless efforts in pioneering carbon capture and sequestration in the US.”
Jeff Zueger, CEO of HLCP, said: “Our partnership with ECP has been instrumental in transforming Harvestone into a leader in low-carbon biofuels. I am grateful for what the team has accomplished and want to thank all of the incredibly talented employees at HLCP.
“We look forward to our next chapter with The Andersons, whose expertise in agriculture and ethanol will help us unlock new opportunities for our employees, customers, and local communities.”
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