First signs of consolidation in ethanol industry

Forbes.com
Associated Press
By DIRK LAMMERS , 11.25.08, 03:38 PM EST

The first salvo may have been fired this week in a long-awaited shakeout for the U.S. ethanol industry.

VeraSun Energy Corp., the nation's No. 2 ethanol producer, announced it had received an unsolicited takeover bid one month after seeking bankruptcy protection, and just hours after the nation's biggest producer, Poet LLC, said it was talking with other companies about buyouts.

Neither Poet nor VeraSun will say if the two are negotiating a deal. VeraSun made the announcement just hours after Poet Chief Executive Jeff Broin told The Associated Press that his company was talking with a number of producers.

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