Flint Hills Resources to Acquire Two Hawkeye Energy Ethanol Plants in Iowa

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Koch Industries (Wichita, Kansas) subsidiary Flint Hills Resources (Wichita) has signed an agreement to acquire Hawkeye Energy Holdings' (Ames, Iowa) ethanol plants in Menlo and Shell Rock, Iowa, from the Royal Bank of Scotland, which is the collateral agent for the senior secured lenders to the owner of the plants. Hawkeye Energy has two additional plants in Iowa Falls and Fairbank, Iowa. The sale is expected to close next month.

Founded in 2003, Hawkeye Energy Holdings filed for Chapter 11 in December 2009, which included subsidiaries Hawkeye Renewables LLC and Hawkeye Intermediate LLC, as well as $761 million in secured debt. Hawkeye Renewables emerged from bankruptcy in June. The Menlo and Shell Rock plants were originally owned by Hawkeye Growth and were not included in the re-emergence. Hawkeye Renewables continued to manage the plants.

Koch Industries was founded in 1940 and is one of the largest privately owned companies in the United States. Flint Hills Resources was formed in 1995 and is a major producer of petrochemical products, and owns refining and terminal complexes. It is the largest ethanol purchaser in the adjoining state of Minnesota.

The Menlo ethanol plant is in Menlo, Iowa, in Guthrie County, approximately 46 miles west of Des Moines, Iowa. The Shell Rock ethanol plant is in Shell Rock, Iowa, in Butler County, about 25 miles Northwest of Waterloo, Iowa. Both plants began operations in 2008. Each has the capacity to produce 115 million gallons of ethanol and has 50 employees.

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