Pacific Ethanol units file bankruptcy - Sacramento Business Journal:

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Pacific Ethanol and its marketing divisio did not filefor bankruptcy. The Sacramento-based company founded in Fresno by former California Secretary of State BillJones — has been battlinf a critical cash crunch, with high corn prices and lowet ethanol prices greatly affecting the bottom line. The company has warne about the possibility of bankruptcy inrecent weeks. Pacific like many ethanol producers nationwide, has been attempting to refinance receiving an extension in March that expirecdin April. The action promptedd the company’s ethanol-producing units to file the voluntaryy bankruptcy petitionin Delaware.
The company’s marketinv subsidiaries — and — have not filee for bankruptcy. West LB and other creditor have agreedto debtor-in-possessiohn financing of $20 “We have worked with our creditors to develoo a plan that we believs allows us to continure operations and meet our commitments to our customers and Pacific Ethanol chief executive officer and presidenf Neil Koehler said in a news “While the market environment for the ethanol industry has been challenginh over the last several quarters, we remai n confident that a restructured company will grow and prosper as the demanxd for low-carbon fuels In addition, -owned offered as much as $10 milliojn in financing to Kinergyu Marketing through October 2010.
‘We appreciat e the support of West LB, Wachovia and the work of our managementg team,” Jones said. “Our objective is to move this procesws forward as quickly as possible so that we can maintaij our focus on serving our fuel and feed The company has delayed filingits first-quarte financials due to the efforts to restructure but said it expects net sales of about $86.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, comparec to net sales of $161.6 million for the same period in 2008. The company estimatee it sold 24 percent less ethanol in the firs t quarter compared to thepreviouw year, and the sale price fell to $1.65 per 28 percent less than in first-quarterr 2008.
The company has closed three of its four production plants this year as it trierd to renegotiateloan terms. The company has plantsa in Madera, Stockton, Boardman, Ore., and Idaho. Pacific Ethanol moved its headquarterds to Sacramento inJanuary 2007. The companyg attracted the attention of many environmentallyfriendly investors, including Microsoft Corp. chairman and foundeer Bill Gates, who has since sold his Shares of Pacific Ethanol (Nasdaq: PEIX) dropped 27 centss to 30 cents, close to its one-year low of 20 cents. Aboutt 4.6 million shares traded as of 10 a.m. Monday, about eight times its average daily volumeof 527,00 during the past thre e months.