Press release
Green Plains Announces Strategic Transactions with BlackRock
Funds and Accounts Managed by BlackRock Invest in Fluid Quip Technologies and Provide Financing to Fund Transformation Plan OMAHA, Neb., Feb. 09, 2021 (GLOBE
About this update from Green Plains, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Funds and Accounts Managed by BlackRock Invest in Fluid Quip Technologies and Provide Financing to Fund Transformation Plan\nOMAHA, Neb., Feb. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) today announced that funds and accounts managed by BlackRock (“BlackRock”) have invested alongside Ospraie Management and Green Plains in Fluid Quip Technologies LLC. In addition, Green Plains announced the completion of a $125 million, 5-year mezzanine note facility with BlackRock. The proceeds will initially support the construction and deployment of Ultra-High Protein technology and production at Green Plains’ Obion, Tenn. and Mount Vernon, Ind. facilities. As part of the transaction, BlackRock acquired 2,000,000 warrants for Green Plains stock (each warrant equal to one share of stock) with a strike price of $22 per share. “Partnering with BlackRock on the Fluid Quip transaction provides further validation of our strategy and access to substantial capital to support our transformation,” said Todd Becker, president and chief executive officer of Green Plains. “Fully funding our transformation strategy to deploy Ultra-High Protein technology across our platform increases our confidence in the ability to deliver on our 2023 and 2024 financial goals. With this additional support, we are accelerating our Ultra-High Protein technology deployment and finalizing the engineering and construction timeline for multiple sites, and expect to announce additional locations in the near future.” “We have known and worked with the management team at Green Plains for some time, which allowed us to understand the company’s transformation strategy and how it aligns with BlackRock’s view that sustainable investing will help investors achieve better, more durable returns over the long run,” said Steven Karpel, Managing Director, Fundamental Fixed Income at BlackRock. “Green Plains’ execution on plant-based protein initiatives to produce agricultural products without expanding land use is an excellent example of a company that is focused on reinventing itself to support the needs of global consumers in a sustainable way.” “The focus of Green Plains is on deploying technology to maximize value in sustainable proteins, renewable oils, specialty alcohols and clean carbohydrates,” added Becker. “We believe we have assembled a powerful ag tech and finan...