Fulcrum BioEnergy Seeks to Raise $115 Million in Biofuels IPO

Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc., a closely held company that produces ethanol from garbage, is seeking to raise $115 million through an initial public offering.

The number of shares to be offered and the price range haven’t been determined yet, the Pleasanton, California-based company said today in a statement. The shares would be listed under the symbol FLCM, though an exchange hasn’t yet been selected, according to Fulcrum’s filing.

The company plans to use proceeds to fund construction of its first commercial plant, a 10 million-gallon-a-year facility near Reno, Nevada. The $180 million plant is expected to begin production in the second half of 2013. Waste Management Inc. (WM) and Waste Connections Inc. (WCN) will supply the municipal solid waste feedstock, and Tenaska Biofuels LLC will purchase all of the fuel, according to the filing.

Fulcrum uses a plasma gasification technology licensed from InEnTec LLC of Bend, Oregon, to convert trash into synthesis gas, which is composed of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The company converts those gases into ethanol using a catalyst licensed from Nipawin Biomass Ethanol New Generation Co- operative Ltd. and the Saskatchewan Research Council.

Fulcrum hasn’t yet generated any revenue and had a deficit of $63.8 million as of June 30, 2011, according to the filing. US Renewables Group LLC owns 72.7 percent of Fulcrum’s shares, and Rustic Canyon Partners owns 23.4 percent, according to the filing.

UBS Securities LLC is the underwriter.

source: bloomberg