- Pacific Ethanol closes on Registered Direct Offering of Common Stock and Warrants for gross proceeds of $28.5 million. - Proceeds will strengthen Company's balance sheet and provide working capital.
SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pacific Ethanol, Inc.
(Nasdaq: PEIX) today announced that it has completed a Registered Direct
Offering, which was previously announced on May 23, 2008. This transaction
raised $28.5 million in gross proceeds, before deducting placement agent's
fees and estimated offering expenses, through the sale of 6.0 million units,
each unit consisting of one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase
0.50 shares of common stock, at a purchase price of $4.75 per unit. The
warrants will first become exercisable after six months from the closing of
the financing at a price of $7.10 per share.
"This investment of $28.5 million immediately strengthens our balance
sheet, supports Pacific Ethanol's goal of being a low cost producer of
ethanol, and positions us for continued growth of our company," said Neil
Koehler, President and CEO.
About Pacific Ethanol, Inc.
Pacific Ethanol is the largest West Coast-based marketer and producer of
ethanol. Pacific Ethanol has ethanol plants in Madera, California; Boardman,
Oregon; and Burley, Idaho and has an additional plant under construction in
Stockton, California. Pacific Ethanol also owns a 42% interest in Front Range
Energy, LLC which owns an ethanol plant in Windsor, Colorado. Central to
Pacific Ethanol's growth strategy is its destination business model, whereby
each respective ethanol plant achieves lower process and transportation costs
by servicing local markets for both fuel and feed. Pacific Ethanol's goal is
to achieve 220 million gallons per year of ethanol production capacity in 2008
and to increase total production capacity to 420 million gallons per year in
2010. In addition, Pacific Ethanol is working to identify and develop other
renewable fuel technologies, such as cellulose-based ethanol production and
bio-diesel.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995
With the exception of historical information, the matters discussed in
this press release are forward-looking statements that involve a number of
risks and uncertainties. The actual future results of Pacific Ethanol could
differ from those statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such
differences include, but are not limited to, the ability of Pacific Ethanol to
successfully and timely complete, in a cost-effective manner, construction of
its ethanol plants under construction; the ability of Pacific Ethanol to
obtain all necessary financing to complete the construction of its other
planned ethanol production facilities; the ability of Pacific Ethanol to
timely complete its ethanol plant build-out program and to successfully
capitalize on its internal growth initiatives; the ability of Pacific Ethanol
to operate its plants at their planned production capacities; the price of
ethanol relative to the price of gasoline; the effect of federal and state
governmental regulations on the demand for ethanol; and the factors contained
in the "Risk Factors" section of Pacific Ethanol's Form 10-K filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 27, 2008.
SOURCE Pacific Ethanol, Inc.
