Los Angeles, CA — The demand for ethanol is expected to continue to grow well beyond existing capacity. Ethanol producers are bringing more capacity online, both in the form of plant expansions and greenfield facilities. If you are building a new facility or looking to expand your current capacity, where will you find the necessary capital to finance your expansion?
Financing the Industry Expansion
The ethanol industry has been historically financed by local agricultural banks. The growth in the industry has begun to outstrip the ability of these local banks to finance new construction. Moreover, ethanol investors have sought to improve upon the relatively low leverage and strict debt service amortization currently required by the bank market. Ethanol investors have recently realized the benefits of financing projects within the high yield and institutional term loan markets (collectively referred to as “debt capital markets”). Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc., for example, recently tapped the high yield market and Hawkeye Renewables recently tapped the institutional term loan market in two highly successful transactions. The Hawkeye transaction was particularly notable because the bulk of the proceeds were earmarked for new construction.
Recent Ethanol Deals
Advantages of High Yield and Institutional Term Loan Markets vs. Traditional Bank Loan Markets
The high yield and the institutional term loan markets offer significant advantages over traditional bank loan markets including greater leverage and more flexible capital. The term loan market, for example, offers virtually no scheduled principal amortization. This compares favorably with the strict scheduled debt service amortization in the bank market. Additionally, the institutional term loan market offers terms of 7 years plus compared to the standard bank loan market which is between 5 and 7 years.
Institutional investors such as prime rate funds and insurance companies are not regulated in the same manner as banks. As a result, they are able to offer more flexible capital structures and greater leverage, often with comparable pricing. As a result of these competitive advantages, the capital provided by institutional investors has grown significantly at the expense of the bank market as illustrated in the adjacent chart.
Major institutional investors include:
- Prime Rate Funds/Money Managers
- Insurance Companies
- Collateralized Loan Obligation Funds (“CLOs”)
- Collateralized Bond Obligation Funds (“CBOs”)
- Bank CLOs
- High Yield Crossover Investors
- Hedge Funds
- Money Mangers
- Investment Banks/Trading Desks
Attractiveness of this Asset Class:
- Compelling risk/return profile resulting in a large, attractive asset class
- Broad universe of investors including mutual funds, CLO’s, hedge funds, insurance companies, money managers, etc.
- Offsets lack of demand from commercial banks
- “Securitization” of asset class through proliferation of ratings, research and trading support
FocalPoint Partners, LLC is an investment banking firm specializing in M&A and capital raising services. FocalPoint offers its clients access to traditional as well as non-traditional sources of capital including the debt capital markets. We are currently engaged in raising debt financing for two greenfield ethanol projects that we expect to close with extremely attractive rates and structures. Whether you are looking to finance a brand new operation or improve the financing terms of your existing credit facility, contact Rajesh Sood, Managing Partner, at 310-405-7050, for more information about the debt capital markets.