The Andersons buys low-carbon ethanol maker Harvestone for $915M
What's the deal? The AndersonsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has agreed to acquire Harvestone Low Carbon Partners (HLCP) from private equity firm Energy Capital PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → for $915 million. HLCP runs three ethanol plants — two in North Dakota and one in Indiana — and the deal expands The Andersons' renewables platform by more than 40%.
What's the endgame? The Maumee, Ohio-based agribusiness wants scale in low-carbon fuels. The acquisition adds roughly 215 million gallons of annual ethanol production, lifting The Andersons' combined capacity to about 730 million gallons once the deal closes.
Why HLCP? The target has built vertically integrated carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) infrastructure that lowers the carbon intensity of its ethanol, letting it serve premium low-carbon markets and claim tax credits. About half the purchase price is tied to expected 45Z and 45Q tax credit cash flows; the rest covers base operations and future projects.
Why now? "We have been evaluating ethanol plant acquisition opportunities for several years, and HLCP is exactly what we have been looking for," said Bill Krueger, chief executive officer of The Andersons. He cited the plants' production economics and locations in the Western and Eastern Corn Belt.
The terms: The Andersons expects to fund the deal with about $300 million drawn on its revolving credit facility and $615 million in additional long-term debt, financed by US BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Farm Credit Mid-America. The company says pro forma long-term debt-to-EBITDA will stay below its 2.5x target, and the transaction should be immediately accretive to earnings per share and cash flow.
What's next for HLCP? "We believe The Andersons is the right home for HLCP," said Jeff Zueger, chief executive officer of HLCP, pointing to a cultural fit between the teams. The deal remains subject to customary closing conditions.
The signal: The purchase underscores how US ethanol producers are betting on carbon capture and federal tax incentives to turn a mature fuel into a higher-margin, low-carbon product — and how established agribusinesses are consolidating that capability rather than building it from scratch.
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