US VeraSun files for bankruptcy protection

03 November 2008 16:39  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--US ethanol producer VeraSun Energy appeared on Monday in bankruptcy court following its filing late last week.

The appearance covered routine bankruptcy motions, which would allow the company to continue paying for shipping charges and wages, according to court documents.

VeraSun filed for bankruptcy protection late on Friday, court documents said. It listed assets of $3.45bn (€2.69bn) and debts of $1.91bn.

VeraSun said it had up to 5,000 creditors, a list that totalled 434 pages, court documents said.

In a statement, VeraSun attributed the bankruptcy to shrinking liquidity.

During the third quarter, VeraSun's corn costs spiked, the company said. The company's liquidity was further constrained by weakening capital markets and tightening trade credit.

Earlier in the year, VeraSun also said it made bad bets on corn futures.

VeraSun said it would continue normal operations during bankruptcy, and it would not cut back on purchases of raw materials.

Shares of VeraSun traded at 24 cents on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange, way down from its 52-week high of $17.75.

The following lists the largest creditors in VeraSun's bankruptcy filing

Wells Fargo	$447.4m
Fagen	$16.6m
Cargill	$12.9m
Haas TCM Processing	$5.44m
Union Pacific Railroad	$5.25m
Crown Iron Works	$2.76m
Norfolk Southern Railroad	$2.51m
CSX Transportation	$2.26m
Citgroup/Capital Finance	$2.19m
ICM	$2.14m

($1 = €0.78)

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By: Al Greenwood
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