UPDATE 1-Aventine CEO says open to mergers, acquisitions
Wed Sep 19, 2007 4:05pm EDT
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 19 (Reuters) - U.S. ethanol producer and marketer Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings Inc (AVR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Chief Executive Ron Miller said on Wednesday his company was interested in linking up with others in the sector.
"We are interested in merger and acquisition opportunities," he told investors at a Bank of America conference.
Miller said Aventine "is getting a lot of calls" from companies, but he did not identify any.
Aventine, based in Pekin, Illinois, "is looking at several opportunities," he said, adding: "The future of the industry is good over time."
Ethanol production capacity in the United States has increased more than 27 percent this year to over 6.84 billion gallons per year on surging interest in the fuel thought to produce low levels of heat-trapping carbon dioxide.
Analysts said the building boom could lead to lower prices for ethanol this year as the production capacity begins to outpace demand.
Aventine has 207 million gallons of annual ethanol production capacity at plants in Illinois and Nebraska and plans to raise capacity to 433 million gallons in 2008.
The company's total announced capacity beyond 2008 is 722 million gallons, Miller said.
Aventine shares rose 5 percent to close at $11.68 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Leonard Anderson)
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