Attached files
file | filename |
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EX-5.1 - Green Brick Partners, Inc. | v205281_ex5-1.htm |
EX-4.5 - Green Brick Partners, Inc. | v205281_ex4-5.htm |
EX-8.1 - Green Brick Partners, Inc. | v205281_ex8-1.htm |
EX-4.6 - Green Brick Partners, Inc. | v205281_ex4-6.htm |
EX-10.7 - Green Brick Partners, Inc. | v205281_ex10-7.htm |
EX-23.1 - Green Brick Partners, Inc. | v205281_ex23-1.htm |
As
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 15,
2010
Registration
No. 333-169982
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
DC 20549
Amendment
No. 3 to
FORM
S-1
REGISTRATION
STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
BIOFUEL
ENERGY CORP.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
(State
or other jurisdiction of
incorporation
or organization)
|
2869
(Primary
Standard Industrial
Classification
Code Number)
|
20-5952523
(I.R.S.
Employer
Identification
Number)
|
1600
Broadway, Suite 2200
Denver,
CO 80202
Telephone:
(303) 640-6500
|
(Address,
including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of
registrant’s principal executive
offices)
|
Mark
L. Zoeller
1600
Broadway, Suite 2200
Denver,
CO 80202
Telephone:
(303) 640-6500
|
(Name,
address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of
agents for service)
|
Copies
to:
Craig
F. Arcella
Cravath,
Swaine & Moore LLP
825
Eighth Avenue
New
York, NY 10019
Telephone:
(212) 474-1000
Fax: (212)
474-3700
|
Approximate
date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as
practicable after the effective date of this Registration
Statement.
If any of
the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or
continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the
following box. x
If this
Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule
462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the
Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective
registration statement for the same offering.¨
If this
Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the
Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration
statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same
offering. ¨
If this
Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the
Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration
statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same
offering. ¨
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See
the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller
reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large
accelerated filer ¨
|
Accelerated
filer ¨
|
Non-accelerated
filer ¨ (Do not check if
a smaller reporting company)
|
Smaller
reporting company x
|
CALCULATION
OF REGISTRATION FEE
Title of class of
|
Proposed
|
Proposed maximum
|
||||||||||||||
securities to be
|
Amount to be
|
maximum offering
|
aggregate offering
|
Amount of
|
||||||||||||
registered
|
registered
|
price per unit
|
price
|
registration fee(4)
|
||||||||||||
Subscription
rights to purchase
depositary shares
|
32,146,160
|
(1 | ) | (1 | ) | (1 | ) | |||||||||
Depositary
shares representing
interests in
Series
A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock
|
32,146,160
|
$ |
0.56
|
$ |
18,001,850
|
$ |
1,284(4
|
) | ||||||||
Series
A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock,
par
value $0.01 per
share
|
1,001,276
|
(2 | ) | (2 | ) | (2 | ) | |||||||||
Common
stock, $0.01 par
value per share
|
32,146,160
|
(3 | ) | (3 | ) | (3 | ) |
(1) Pursuant
to Rule 457(g) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, no separate
registration fee is required for the subscription rights, since they are being
registered in the same registration statement as the depositary shares
underlying the subscription rights.
(2) Each
depositary share represents a fractional interest in a share of Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock. Because no separate consideration
will be received by the registrant for the Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock, no registration fee is required with respect to these
securities.
(3) The
depositary shares are, by virtue of the conversion rate of the Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock in which they represent interests and the
depositary arrangements, effectively convertible into shares of common stock on
a one-for-one basis. Pursuant to Rule 457(i) of the Securities Act of
1933, as amended, where convertible securities and the securities into which
conversion is offered are registered at the same time, the registration fee is
to be calculated on the basis of the proposed offering price of the convertible
securities alone.
(4) Previously
paid by the registrant in connection with the initial filing of this
Registration Statement.
The
registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as
may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a
further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement
shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the
Securities Act of 1933 or until the registration statement shall become
effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said
Section 8(a), may determine.
The
information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not
sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell
these securities, and we are not soliciting an offer to buy the securities in
any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to completion, dated December
15, 2010
Prospectus
BioFuel
Energy Corp.
Subscription
Rights, Depositary Shares, Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock and
Common Stock
We are
distributing at no charge to the record holders of our common stock as of 5:00
p.m., New York City time, on December 27, 2010, which we refer to as the record
date, non-transferable subscription rights to purchase depositary shares
representing shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock. The number of subscription rights distributed to our record
holders will be 64,210,390 (subject to rounding as described in this
prospectus). The subscription rights will be distributed pro rata to
the holders of our common stock based on the number of shares of common stock
held on the record date. Each subscription right will permit the
holder of such right to acquire, at a rights price equal to $0.56 per depositary
share, one depositary share under the basic subscription privilege and will also
provide an over-subscription privilege. This rights price represents
an approximately 66% discount to the closing price of our common stock on
December 13, 2010. The over-subscription privilege will entitle the
holder of the subscription right to subscribe for an additional amount of
depositary shares equal to up to 100% of the depositary shares for which the
holder was otherwise entitled to subscribe. The subscription rights
will expire and have no value if they are not exercised by 5:00 p.m., New
York City time, on January 28, 2011, the expiration date. The
subscription rights may not be sold or transferred. All exercises of
subscription rights are irrevocable. As described below, a
portion of the rights offering to certain of our existing stockholders is being
conducted on a private, non-registered basis. We refer to that
private rights offering, together with this public rights offering, collectively
as the rights offering. Subject to certain conditions and possible
reductions as described in more detail herein, the total proceeds expected to be
raised in the rights offering is $35,957,818.
Each
depositary share will represent a fractional interest in a share of Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock equal to approximately .0311 of a share
of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock (subject to adjustment as
described in this prospectus) and will entitle the holder, through the
depositary, to a proportional fractional interest in the rights and preferences
of such share of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock, including
conversion, dividend, liquidation and voting rights, subject to the terms of the
deposit agreement. Each share of Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock will, following the approval by the holders of our common stock
and class B common stock of the authorization and issuance of additional shares
of common stock, automatically convert into approximately 32.1052 shares of
common stock (subject to adjustment as described in this
prospectus). Upon conversion of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock, each depositary share shall entitle the holder thereof to
receive one share of common stock and, upon the distribution of one share of
common stock to the holder of each such depositary share, each such depositary
share shall be automatically cancelled and have no further value. The
depositary will distribute the shares of common stock it receives upon
conversion of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock to the holders
of the depositary shares entitled to receive such distribution in proportion to
the number of outstanding depositary shares held by each such holder, on the
date of receipt or as soon as practicable thereafter.
BioFuel
Energy Corp. is a holding company and its sole asset is its membership interest
in BioFuel Energy, LLC, which we refer to as the “LLC.” Concurrent
with this rights offering, the LLC will be conducting a private
placement. The LLC’s concurrent private placement has been structured
so as to provide the holders of membership interests in the LLC (other than
BioFuel Energy Corp.), whose interests are exchangeable on a one-for-one basis
for shares of common stock, with a private placement that is economically
equivalent to this rights offering. Subject to certain conditions and
possible reductions as described in more detail herein, the total proceeds
expected to be raised by the LLC in the LLC’s concurrent private placement is
$10,042,182.
Existing
stockholders and holders of membership interests in the LLC that are also
lenders under our bridge loan agreement have agreed, subject to certain
conditions and possible reductions, to purchase depositary shares in an amount
equal to their full basic subscription privileges, to participate in the LLC’s
concurrent private placement for their full LLC basic purchase privileges and to
purchase immediately prior to expiration of this rights offering all of the
available depositary shares not otherwise sold in this rights offering and to
purchase all of the available preferred membership interests in the LLC not
otherwise sold in the LLC’s concurrent private placement. Any depositary
shares purchased by these parties will be purchased directly from us on a
private basis and are not being registered pursuant to the registration
statement of which this prospectus is a part.
Shares
of our common stock are traded on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol
“BIOF.” The closing price of shares of our common stock on December
13, 2010 was $1.63 per share. The depositary shares will be
transferable following the initial issuance of the depositary
shares. The depositary shares will not be listed for trading on any
stock exchange. The depositary shares are a new issue of securities
for which there currently is no market.
Investing
in the securities offered by this prospectus involves a high degree of risk. You
should carefully consider the risks described under the “Risk Factors” section
of this prospectus beginning on page 23 before buying any of the depositary
shares offered hereby.
Neither
the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has
approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is
truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal
offense.
The date
of this prospectus
is ,
2010
Table
of Contents
Prospectus
Summary
|
1 | |||
Summary
of the Rights Offering
|
9 | |||
Risk
Factors
|
23 | |||
Forward-Looking
Statements
|
47 | |||
Use
of Proceeds
|
48 | |||
Market
Price and Dividends on Common Stock
|
49 | |||
Capitalization
|
51 | |||
Selected
Financial Data
|
52 | |||
The
Rights Offering
|
54 | |||
Description
of Capital Stock
|
71 | |||
Security
Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management
|
84 | |||
Material
U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences
|
87 | |||
Plan
of Distribution
|
92 | |||
Legal
Matters
|
92 | |||
Experts
|
92 | |||
Incorporation
by Reference
|
92 | |||
Where
You Can Find More Information
|
93 |
About
This Prospectus
We
are responsible only for the information contained in this prospectus or
incorporated by reference into this prospectus or to which we have referred you,
including any free writing prospectus that we file with the Securities and
Exchange Commission relating to this prospectus. We have not
authorized anyone to provide you with any other information, and we take no
responsibility for any other information that others may provide you. We are not
making an offer of securities in any state or other jurisdiction where the offer
is not permitted. To the extent that any facts or events arising
after the date of this prospectus, individually or in the aggregate, represent a
fundamental change in the information presented in this prospectus, this
prospectus will be updated to the extent required by law to contain all material
information. We encourage you to consult your own counsel, accountant
and other advisors for legal, tax, business, financial and related advice
regarding an investment in our securities.
As used
in this prospectus, unless the context requires otherwise, “BioFuel,” “we,”
“our,” “us” and the “Company” refer to BioFuel Energy Corp. and its
subsidiaries. References to “Cargill” refer to Cargill, Incorporated and
its subsidiaries or affiliates.
v
Prospectus
Summary
This
prospectus summary highlights certain information about us and this rights
offering. Because it is a summary, it does not contain all of the information
that you should consider before deciding whether or not you should exercise your
subscription rights. To understand this rights offering fully, you should
carefully read this entire prospectus, including the “Risk Factors” section, the
“The Rights Offering” section and the information incorporated by reference
herein.
Our
Company
BioFuel
Energy Corp. produces and sells ethanol and its co-products, primarily wet and
dry distillers grain, through its wholly owned ethanol production facilities
located in Wood River, Nebraska and Fairmont, Minnesota. Each of these
facilities has a nameplate capacity, based on the maximum amount of permitted
denaturant, of approximately 115 million gallons per year, or Mmgy. Our
strategy is to become one of the most profitable companies in the ethanol
industry on a per gallon basis by operating our facilities at or above nameplate
capacity, focusing on low-cost operations and utilizing our experienced
management and operations team, access to a variety of ethanol markets and
unique partnership with Cargill, one of the world’s leading agribusiness
companies.
We are a
holding company with no operations of our own, and are the sole managing member
of BioFuel Energy, LLC, which we refer to as the “LLC,” which is itself a
holding company and indirectly owns all of our operating subsidiaries and
assets. The Company’s ethanol plants are owned and operated by the operating
subsidiaries of the LLC.
Our Facilities
Our
facilities are located strategically in the Midwest “Corn Belt,” and each of our
facilities is able to meet local, regional, national and international demand
for ethanol. Both facilities have unit train access to the Union Pacific
Railway, and are positioned in some of the lowest-priced, highest-supply
feedstock markets in the United States. Below is an overview of our
production facilities:
Ethanol Plant Overview
Our
scaled facilities have been in operation for over two years, each designed using
state of the art Delta-T technology. Over that period, we have made
improvements to our utilization rates and conversion rates (measured by gallons
of denatured ethanol per bushel of corn), and continuously lowered our overall
fixed costs per gallon of production. We have also identified and
implemented new margin enhancement activities, including (1) re-negotiated
marketing and feedstock agreements, (2) procurement of an ethanol export license
for sale into higher-priced global markets and (3) high-return capital
modifications and improvements to maximize plant reliability and
profitability.
FAIRMONT, MN 115 MMGY PRODUCTION
FACILITY
The
Fairmont production facility began operations late in the second quarter of 2008
with an annual production capacity of 115 Mmgy, based on the maximum amount of
permitted denaturant. The plant is located on an approximately 200-acre site
owned by us located approximately 150 miles southwest of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The site is immediately adjacent to an existing Cargill grain elevator, with
storage capacity of two million bushels representing nearly 18 days’ production
at full capacity. The grain elevator provides all required corn storage and
handling capacity for the plant and, together with the site on which it sits,
has been leased, effective September 2008, from Cargill pursuant to a 20-year
lease.
1
The
Fairmont facility also has unit train capabilities for shipping both ethanol and
distillers grain on the Union Pacific Railway, which provides a low cost source
of transportation as well as access to local, regional, national and
international markets. Natural gas distribution to the plant is provided by a
lateral pipeline from the Northern Border Interstate Pipeline just north of the
Ventura hub, providing a liquid and competitive market in which we procure gas.
Electricity to the site is provided by Federated Rural Electric
Association.
WOOD RIVER, NE 115 MMGY PRODUCTION
FACILITY
The Wood
River production facility began operations late in the second quarter of 2008
with an annual production capacity of 115 Mmgy, based on the maximum amount of
permitted denaturant. The plant is located on an approximately 125-acre site
owned by us located approximately 100 miles west of Lincoln, Nebraska. The site
is immediately adjacent to an existing Cargill grain elevator, with storage
capacity of three million bushels representing nearly 27 days’ production at
full capacity. The grain elevator provides all required corn storage and
handling capacity for the plant and, together with the site on which it sits,
has been leased, effective September 2008, from Cargill pursuant to a 20-year
lease.
The Wood
River facility also has unit train capabilities for shipping both ethanol and
distillers grain on the Union Pacific Railway, which provides a low cost source
of transportation as well as access to local, regional, national and
international markets. Natural gas distribution to the site is provided by a
lateral pipeline from the Kinder Morgan Interstate Pipeline, providing a
competitive means to procure gas from either the rocky mountain region or
mid-continent. We have secured transportation on this pipeline via a ten
year supply agreement with Kinder Morgan. Electricity to the site is provided by
Southern Power District.
Our Points of
Differentiation
Our
scaled assets, partnership with Cargill, leading production technology,
operational excellence, extensive logistics infrastructure and experienced
management team combine to position us as a leader in ethanol
production.
Operational Excellence – Our
uniform plant technology platform and operating infrastructure ensures that we
are always learning and implementing new best practices at our facilities,
shortening the learning curve and driving lower overall operating costs. We are
also the beneficiary of a committed, experienced work force that capitalizes on
new and unique opportunities to improve operational efficiency. Our plant
managers, led by Doug Anderson, our Vice President of Operations, each has over
10 years of experience in the ethanol industry. Their long-term operating
knowledge results in highly efficient plants with industry-leading corn
conversions producing quality ethanol and co-products.
Low-Cost Corn Procurement –
Our ability to procure corn at comparatively low prices in the United States is
a result of the Company’s strategic locations within the Midwest “Corn Belt” and
strong Cargill relationship. By having facilities in some of the highest
concentrations of corn production as well as having on-site grain elevators, we
are able to avoid paying high transportation costs or expensive storage costs to
source corn.
Scaled, High-Yield Production
Assets – Our scaled 115 Mmgy “sister” facilities were each designed using
a Delta-T design incorporating the latest dry mill technology. We are committed
to achieving best-in-class yields at each of our operating facilities, having
made significant investments to both maintain and improve upon the basic Delta-T
platform. The Fairmont and Wood River facilities, for example, have
achieved conversion yields of approximately 2.8 gallons/bushel year-to-date in
2010 (through August 31, 2010). Based on recent operating data, we believe
this places us in the top quadrant for corn-to-ethanol conversion yields in the
ethanol industry today.
2
Extensive Logistics
Infrastructure – Each of our plants is strategically located near the
main line of the Union Pacific railroad, which provides access to domestic and
international end markets, allowing Cargill to take advantage of end market
price disparities. We have also equipped both of our facilities with sufficient
rail sidings to allow them to load larger unit trains, providing the economies
of scale necessary to achieve lower per unit freight rates. Additionally,
both plants are located immediately adjacent to existing Cargill grain
elevators. The grain elevators provide significant corn storage and
handling capacity for our plants as compared to the facilities of some of our
competitors.
Export License Obtained – We
believe that our operating technology and installed assets are differentiated
versus other technologies in that we are able to regularly meet more stringent
moisture requirements to serve certain international markets. We have
obtained an export license to ship our ethanol to international markets from the
Wood River facility and have applied for an export permit for the Fairmont
facility. We believe that the option to sell into international markets at
higher prices is a key strategic advantage.
Developed Risk Management
Strategy – We recognize the importance of commodity prices to financial
performance and we manage our commodity risk using a structured risk management
program focused on attempting to stabilize financial performance by efficiently
buying corn and natural gas and selling ethanol and distillers grain. Risk
management activities target ethanol’s margin spread over corn, known as the
ethanol “crush spread,” with an emphasis on managing risk as opposed to
forecasting commodity prices. We currently leverage Cargill’s
comprehensive risk management platform to help manage our commodity risks
relating to corn, ethanol and natural gas prices and to develop strategies to
hedge to beat board spreads.
Leading Industry Partner:
Cargill – We have entered into a number of long-term contracts with
Cargill, which participates in almost every aspect of the corn industry in the
United States. We believe our relationship with Cargill provides us with a
number of competitive advantages including:
|
·
|
Reliable Corn
Supply. We benefit from Cargill’s expertise in corn
origination services and extensive experience with corn supply in the
geographic areas of our facilities. Pursuant to our corn supply agreements
for our Wood River and Fairmont plants, Cargill will supply our corn
requirements during the 20-year term of the contracts, regardless of local
supply and demand. From inception, we believe we have priced corn on a
local basis more efficiently than our competitors in the corn
belt.
|
|
·
|
Logistics and
Transportation. Cargill’s extensive network of rail and
trucking relationships and an array of logistical and scheduling tools
minimizes the risk of disruption or unexpected additional transportation
costs for the delivery of corn and the shipment of ethanol and distillers
grain products.
|
|
·
|
Ethanol and Distillers
Grain Marketing. Because of our partnership with Cargill and
its significant experience marketing ethanol and distillers grain, Cargill
provides us with immediate access to its broad customer base. Under
10-year agreements, Cargill is responsible for maintaining a continuous
outlet for the marketing, sale and distribution of all ethanol and
distillers grain produced by our Wood River and Fairmont plants. In
addition, we believe our relationship with Cargill positions us well with
large end-users of ethanol due to the size and reliability of Cargill
compared to other small ethanol marketers and producers that market
ethanol directly or through other marketing channels. For example,
our 2009 realized ethanol price was $0.06 per gallon better than the
Chicago Board of Trade, or CBOT,
average.
|
3
Experienced and Well-Rounded
Management Team – We are managed by a well-rounded and seasoned
management team with experience in finance, commodities, energy, operations and
agriculture, as well as extensive experience in acquisitions and dispositions of
businesses, individual properties and groups of properties. Our President
and Chief Executive Officer, Scott H. Pearce, and our Vice President of
Operations, Doug Anderson, have significant expertise in industrial development,
operations and risk management. In addition, our board of directors includes
executives vastly experienced in agriculture and finance.
Corporate
Information
Our
principal executive offices are located at 1600 Broadway, Suite 2200, Denver,
Colorado 80202. Our telephone number is (303) 640-6500. Our website
address is www.bfenergy.com. The content of our website is not a part of
this prospectus.
Holding
Company Structure
BioFuel
Energy Corp. is a holding company and its sole asset is its membership interest
in the LLC. As the sole managing member of the LLC, BioFuel Energy Corp.
operates and controls all of the business and affairs of the LLC and its
subsidiaries. The certificate of incorporation of BioFuel Energy
Corp.:
|
•
|
authorizes
two classes of common stock, common stock and class B common stock,
and also authorizes preferred stock. The class B common stock, shares
of which are held only by the holders of membership interests in the LLC
(other than BioFuel Energy Corp.), provides its holders with no economic
rights but entitles each holder to one vote with respect to all matters
voted upon by holders of our common stock for each share of class B
common stock held; and
|
|
•
|
entitles
the holders of membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy
Corp.) to exchange their class B common stock along with their LLC
membership interests for shares of common stock on a one-for-one basis,
subject to customary rate adjustments for stock splits, stock dividends
and reclassifications. If a holder of class B common stock exchanges
any LLC membership interests for shares of common stock, the shares of
class B common stock held by such holder and attributable to the
exchanged LLC membership interests will automatically be transferred to
BioFuel Energy Corp. and be
retired.
|
In
connection with this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement,
BioFuel Energy Corp. will designate and issue shares of Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock that will be represented by the depositary shares
and the LLC will designate and issue preferred membership interests. The
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock will be automatically
convertible into shares of common stock and the preferred membership interests
in the LLC will be automatically convertible into membership interests in the
LLC upon receipt of the requisite stockholder approval. See “The Rights
Offering” and “Description of Capital Stock—LLC Preferred Membership Interests;
Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement.”
4
Related
Agreements and Transactions
Bridge
Loan Agreement
On
September 24, 2010, we entered into a loan agreement (which we refer to as the
“Bridge Loan Agreement”) with Greenlight Capital, LP, Greenlight Capital
Qualified, LP, Greenlight Capital (Gold), LP, Greenlight Capital Offshore
Partners, Greenlight Capital Offshore Master (Gold), Ltd., Greenlight
Reinsurance, Ltd. (which we refer to collectively as the “Greenlight Parties”)
and Third Point Loan LLC (which we refer to as “Third Point” and, together with
the Greenlight Parties, as the “Backstop Parties”) and Greenlight APE, LLC, as
administrative agent, pursuant to which we borrowed $19,420,620 (which we refer
to as the “Bridge Loan”). The proceeds of the Bridge Loan were used to
repay certain working capital loans under our senior credit agreement and to pay
certain related fees and expenses. The Bridge Loan matures on March 24,
2011, and in the event the Bridge Loan is not paid in full on or before that
date, we will issue warrants to the Backstop Parties exercisable at an exercise
price of $0.01 per share for an aggregate of 15% of our common stock on a fully
diluted basis as of the date the warrants are issued.
The
Bridge Loan bears interest at a rate of 12.5% per annum, and if the Bridge Loan
is not paid in full on or before the maturity date, the Bridge Loan will bear
interest at a rate of 14.5% per annum.
The
Bridge Loan Agreement contains customary affirmative covenants for facilities of
this type, including covenants pertaining to the delivery of financial
statements, notices of default and certain other information, maintenance of
business and insurance, collateral matters and compliance with laws, as well as
customary negative covenants for facilities of this type, including limitations
on the incurrence of indebtedness and liens, mergers and certain other
fundamental changes, loans and investments, acquisitions, transactions with
affiliates, dispositions of assets, payments of dividends and other restricted
payments and changes in our line of business.
The
Bridge Loan Agreement contains default provisions that include a material breach
of the Rights Offering Letter Agreement and others that are customary for
facilities of this type, which are subject to customary grace periods and
materiality thresholds, including, among other things, defaults related to
payment failures, failure to comply with covenants, misrepresentations, defaults
under other material indebtedness, the occurrence of a “change of control,”
bankruptcy and related events, material judgments, specified changes in control
of the Company and invalidity of the related loan documents. If an
event of default occurs under the Bridge Loan Agreement, the lenders may, among
other things, declare the Bridge Loan immediately payable and foreclose on the
collateral. The Bridge Loan is secured by a pledge of our equity
interest in the LLC.
The
Bridge Loan may be voluntarily prepaid without penalty or premium. We
intend to use a portion of the proceeds of this rights offering and the LLC’s
concurrent private placement to repay the Bridge Loan in full. See “Use of
Proceeds.” The Backstop Parties may require us to reduce the size of
this rights offering or their commitment to purchase depositary shares that are
not subscribed for by other holders in this rights offering. We expect
that any such reduction would reduce the proceeds available to us from this
rights offering and may result in us not having sufficient funds available to
repay the Bridge Loan at maturity or to make the other payments contemplated by
the use of proceeds of this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private
placement. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to the Rights Offering—At their
discretion, the Backstop Parties have the ability to reduce the number of
depositary shares that they would otherwise be obligated to purchase pursuant to
their Basic Commitment or Backstop Commitment or cause us to reduce the
aggregate number of depositary shares offered in this rights
offering.”
Rights
Offering Letter Agreement
In
connection with the Bridge Loan Agreement, on September 24, 2010, we entered
into a Rights Offering Letter Agreement with the Backstop Parties, which was
subsequently amended and restated in its entirety by the Amended and Restated
Rights Offering Letter Agreement entered into with the Backstop Parties and
dated as of December 14, 2010 (which we refer to as the “Rights Offering Letter
Agreement”), pursuant to which we agreed to use commercially reasonable best
efforts to commence this rights offering on or before January 24,
2011. Further, the Rights Offering Letter Agreement sets forth, among
other things, the terms and conditions of this rights offering and the LLC’s
concurrent private placement, including the participation and backstop
commitments of the Backstop Parties. See “The Rights Offering”
generally and, in particular, “The Rights Offering—Rights Offering Letter
Agreement.”
Voting
Agreements
On
September 24, 2010, the Greenlight Parties entered into a voting agreement,
which was subsequently superseded in its entirety by the amended and restated
voting agreement entered into by the Greenlight Parties and dated as of December
14, 2010, which requires the Greenlight Parties, in connection with certain
stockholder votes, to cast their votes (i) in favor of at least two directors
who are not affiliated with, or employed by, and who are otherwise independent
of, the Greenlight Parties and (ii) in favor of proposals to amend our amended
and restated certificate of incorporation to increase the number of authorized
but unissued shares of common stock and class B common stock to an amount
sufficient to permit the issuance of the shares issuable in connection with the
transactions described herein and to approve such issuances. Also on
September 24, 2010, Third Point entered into a voting agreement, which was
subsequently superseded in its entirety by the amended and restated voting
agreement entered into by Third Point and dated as of December 14, 2010, which
requires Third Point, in connection with certain stockholder votes, to cast its
votes in favor of proposals to amend our amended and restated certificate of
incorporation to increase the number of authorized but unissued shares of common
stock and class B common stock to an amount sufficient to permit the issuance of
the shares issuable in connection with the transactions described herein and to
approve such issuances.
Under the
Rights Offering Letter Agreement, we must use our commercially reasonable best
efforts to obtain stockholder approval of the authorization of all shares of
common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock. To that end, on November 15, 2010 we filed a proxy
statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with a
stockholder meeting to be called for such purpose, and we must use our best
efforts to obtain such approval by January 24, 2011.
5
Unless
and until the requisite stockholder approval is obtained, no shares of Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock will convert into shares of common stock
(and therefore no shares of common stock will be available for distribution by
the depositary to the holders of the depositary shares). We intend to seek
the requisite stockholder approval as soon as practicable.
The
Greenlight Parties are affiliates of Greenlight Capital, Inc., which, as of
December 13, 2010, owned 7,542,104 shares of common stock and 4,311,396 shares
of class B common stock, which together represented 36.4% of our outstanding
total voting stock (composed of our common stock and class B common stock) on
that date. Third Point is an affiliate of Third Point Funds, which as of
December 13, 2010, owned 5,578,800 shares of common stock, which represented
17.1% of our outstanding total voting stock on that
date. Collectively, the parties to the Voting Agreements owned 53.5%
of our outstanding total voting stock on that date.
Reasons for this Rights
Offering
We are
conducting this rights offering to raise capital that we will use, together
with the proceeds of the LLC’s concurrent private placement and the Backstop
Commitment, to pay off the Bridge Loan, pay off all indebtedness under the
Subordinated Debt Agreement, make the Cargill Cash Payment and to pay certain
fees and expenses of this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private
placement.
In
September 2010, $17.9 million of outstanding working capital loans under our
Senior Debt Facility were scheduled to become due and it was not clear in
advance of that time that we would have sufficient liquidity to both repay these
loans when due and to maintain our operations. If we had been unable
to repay the working capital loans at maturity, it would have resulted in an
event of default under our Senior Debt Facility and a cross-default under our
Subordinated Debt Agreement, and would have allowed the lenders to accelerate
repayment of amounts outstanding. In that event, the Company may have
had to seek relief from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy
Code.
In order
to avoid such an event, during the late spring and summer of 2010 we evaluated
various alternatives and attempted to engage in discussions with our lenders
under our Senior Debt Facility and representatives for them seeking a one-year
extension of the working capital loans, which by the terms of the Senior Debt
Facility would have required the consent of lenders holding two-thirds of the
outstanding loans or, failing that, a forbearance or other form of amendment to
the Senior Debt Facility. In early September 2010, when it
became apparent that these discussions with the lenders under our Senior Debt
Facility were not likely to reach a timely conclusion on terms acceptable to the
Company, our board of directors commenced explorative discussions with the
Greenlight Parties to have the Greenlight Parties lend the Company funds on a
short-term basis in order to pay off the working capital loans at
maturity. In connection with those discussions, the parties discussed
having the Company raise equity capital promptly in order to repay any such
short-term loan. The Greenlight Parties and the Company also
discussed whether the Greenlight Parties would, if requested by the Company, be
willing to consider “backstopping” any proposed equity capital
transaction. The parties also engaged in discussions with Cargill
regarding the modification and repayment of amounts owed by the Company to
Cargill under the terms of the agreement dated January 14, 2009 by and between
the Company and Cargill (which we refer to as the “Settlement Agreement”).
Because
David Einhorn, who is the principal of the Greenlight Parties, is a member of
our board of directors, our board of directors established an independent
committee consisting only of independent members of the board in order to
assess the fairness of any such transaction. The independent committee engaged
separate legal counsel and engaged Piper Jaffray & Co. as the
independent financial advisor to the committee. The independent
committee met a number of times in September of 2010 and, on September 17,
proposed to the Greenlight Parties a transaction structure consisting of a
short-term bridge loan to the Company (to be used to pay off the working capital
loans) followed by a rights offering, backstopped by the Greenlight Parties, to
raise capital to repay the bridge loan. Over the course of the next
week, the independent committee and the Greenlight Parties negotiated the terms
of such a transaction. Toward the end of that week, the Greenlight
Parties and the Company inquired as to whether Third Point would be
interested in participating alongside the Greenlight Parties, and Third Point
thereafter joined the negotiations. On September 24, 2010, the
committee recommended to the board and, on that date, the board of
directors approved the Rights Offering Letter Agreement, the Bridge Loan
Agreement and the Voting Agreements. David Einhorn was not involved
in any of the deliberations or negotiations of the independent committee or the
board in connection with the Bridge Loan Agreement, the Rights Offering Letter
Agreement (or amendment thereto) or the Voting Agreements (or amendments
thereto). The terms of the Rights Offering Letter Agreement, which
govern the terms of this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private
placement, the Bridge Loan Agreement and the Voting Agreements were determined
after arm’s-length negotiations between the independent committee and the
Backstop Parties.
The
proceeds of the Bridge Loan were used to pay off the outstanding working capital
loans and to pay certain related fees and expenses. The Rights
Offering Letter Agreement was entered into in connection with the Bridge Loan
Agreement because it provided a means for us to raise equity capital in this
rights offering, the LLC’s concurrent private placement and the Backstop
Commitment to repay the Bridge Loan at or prior to maturity. Without
this means of repayment, the Backstop Parties may not have provided the Bridge
Loan and, as a result, we may not have been able to pay off the working capital
loans at maturity.
6
In
negotiating and recommending to the board of directors the terms of this rights
offering, the independent committee considered a number of factors, including,
but not limited to, the price at which we believe our stockholders might be
willing to participate in this rights offering, our need for liquidity and
additional capital, the fact that no
alternative transaction was imminent, the fact that all of our
stockholders are entitled to participate in this rights offering on a pro rata
basis and the fact that holders of subscription rights will have an
over-subscription privilege. Prior to concluding that the Rights
Offering Letter Agreement and this rights offering were in our best interest,
the independent committee also considered the likelihood of obtaining an
extension or a forbearance of the working capital loans on acceptable terms, the
likelihood of existing stockholders realizing value in the Company in the event
of a Chapter 11 filing, and the fact that, pursuant to the agreed terms of the
Rights Offering Letter Agreement, we have the ability to solicit and, in certain
circumstances, consummate a Substitute Transaction (see “The Rights
Offering—Rights Offer Letter Agreement—Substitute Transaction”). The
independent committee received financial advice from Piper Jaffray & Co.,
the independent financial advisor to the committee, and was advised by
independent legal counsel. In advising the independent committee,
Piper Jaffray: provided advice concerning the financial aspects, and
capital market implications, of the Bridge Loan, this rights offering and
potential alternative transactions; participated in telephonic meetings with the
committee; and reviewed precedent transactions and provided summary comparisons
of those precedent transactions to the committee. Piper Jaffray is
also advising the independent committee in connection with its review of any
potential Substitute Transactions that may arise.
In
structuring the terms of this rights offering, the independent committee and the
Backstop Parties established the formula used to calculate the rights price at
an amount substantially below the market price of our common stock at the time
of determination in order to increase the attractiveness of participating in
this rights offering for our stockholders. In addition, this rights
offering was structured as a rights offering for depositary shares representing
fractional interests in Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock because
of the likelihood that we would not have sufficient authorized but unissued
shares of common stock to structure this rights offering as a rights offering
for new shares of common stock. We also agreed and acknowledged
that we would seek stockholder approval of a proposal to amend our amended
and restated certificate of incorporation in order to facilitate the conversion
of all shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock into shares of
common stock.
Cargill
Letter Agreement
On
September 23, 2010, we entered into a letter agreement with Cargill, Cargill
Commodity Services, Inc. and our operating subsidiaries BFE Operating Company,
LLC, Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC and Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC (which we refer to
as the “Cargill Letter”) pursuant to which we and Cargill agreed to adjustments
to certain commercial terms under our ethanol and distillers grains marketing
agreements, corn supply agreements and grain facility leases.
We and
Cargill also agreed that upon completion of this rights offering, (i) we will
pay Cargill $2,800,829 (which we refer to as the “Cargill Cash Payment”)
pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement and, as contemplated by the
Settlement Agreement, Cargill will forgive a like amount of the payable under
the Settlement Agreement and (ii) upon receipt of the Cargill Cash Payment,
Cargill will forgive the remaining payable under the Settlement Agreement in
exchange for depositary shares in an amount equal to approximately $6,000,000
(which we refer to as the “Cargill Stock Payment”). The payment of
the Cargill Cash Payment and the Cargill Stock Payment is contingent upon the
successful completion of this rights offering and the raising of proceeds in
this rights offering sufficient to make the Cargill Cash Payment, after
repayment of all amounts owed at the time of consummation of this rights
offering under the Bridge Loan Agreement and the Subordinated Debt Agreement
(for more information about our Subordinated Debt Agreement, see “Use of
Proceeds”).
7
The
depositary shares that will make up the Cargill Stock Payment will be issued to
Cargill on the 12th business day following the consummation of this rights
offering and will be valued at a per share price equal to the average of the
volume weighted averages of the trading prices of our common stock, as such
prices are reported on The Nasdaq Global Market, for the 10 consecutive trading
days ending on the second trading day immediately preceding the date such
depositary shares are issued to Cargill. The depositary shares to be
issued to Cargill will therefore be issued after the depositary shares that will
be issued upon expiration of this rights offering but will have the same rights
and preferences as the depositary shares that will be issued upon expiration of
this rights offering. The depositary shares to be issued to Cargill are
not being registered or sold in this rights offering. In order to issue
the depositary shares that will make up the Cargill Stock Payment, we expect to
issue and deposit with the depositary a number of additional shares of Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock that corresponds to the aggregate
fractional interests in shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock that the newly issued depositary shares represent.
In the
event that an insufficient number of authorized shares of Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock are available for such issuance and deposit with the
depositary, we expect to establish an alternative method for satisfying the
Cargill Stock Payment that is satisfactory to us, Cargill and the Backstop
Parties.
8
Summary
of the Rights Offering
The
following description summarizes the material terms of this rights offering, the
LLC’s concurrent private placement, the depositary shares and the Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock. See “The Rights Offering,”
“Description of Capital Stock—Description of the Depositary Shares” and
“Description of Capital Stock—Description of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock” for a more detailed description of the terms and conditions of
this rights offering, the LLC’s concurrent private placement, the depositary
shares and the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock.
Overview
|
We
are distributing to the holders of our common stock non-transferable
subscription rights to purchase depositary shares. Each depositary
share will represent a fractional interest in a share of Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock equal to approximately .0311 of a
share of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock and will entitle
the holder, through the depositary, to a proportional fractional interest
in the rights and preferences of such share of Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock. Each share of Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock will, following the requisite stockholder
approval, automatically convert into approximately 32.1052 shares of
common stock. Upon conversion, each depositary share shall
entitle the holder thereof to receive one share of common stock and, upon
the distribution of one share of common stock to the holder, each such
depositary share shall be automatically cancelled and have no further
value. As a result, the depositary shares are effectively
convertible on a one-for-one basis into shares of our common
stock. As described below under “—Backstop Parties’ Basic
Commitment and Backstop Commitment,” a portion of the rights offered to
certain of our existing stockholders is being conducted on a private,
non-registered basis. We refer to that private rights offering,
together with this public rights offering, collectively as the rights
offering.
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The
Subscription Rights
|
We
are distributing at no charge to the record holders of our common stock as
of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on December 27, 2010, the record date,
non-transferable subscription rights to purchase depositary shares
representing shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock. Each subscription right will permit the holder of such
right to acquire, at a rights price equal to $0.56 per depositary share,
one depositary share under the basic subscription privilege and will also
provide the holder of such right with an over-subscription
privilege.
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The
subscription rights will be distributed pro rata to the holders of our
common stock based on the number of shares of common stock held on the
record date. The number of subscription rights distributed to
the holders of our common stock will be determined as described under
“—Number of Rights; Number of LLC Purchase
Privileges.” Fractional subscription rights resulting from such
pro rata distribution will be eliminated by rounding up to the nearest
whole right.
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Concurrent
Private Placement
|
General. Concurrent
with this rights offering, the LLC will grant at no charge purchase
privileges to the record holders (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) of
membership interests in the LLC as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on
December 27, 2010, the record date, to purchase a new class of preferred
membership interests in the LLC (which we refer to as the “LLC’s
concurrent private placement”). Each LLC purchase privilege
will permit the holder of such privilege to acquire, at a price equal to
$0.56, one preferred membership interest in the LLC under the LLC basic
purchase privilege and will also provide the holder of such LLC basic
purchase privilege with an LLC additional purchase
privilege. The LLC additional purchase privilege will entitle
the holder of the LLC purchase privilege to purchase an additional amount
of preferred membership interests equal to up to 100% of the preferred
membership interests that the holder was otherwise entitled to
purchase. We expect that the record date, term and expiration
date of the LLC’s concurrent private placement will be the same as those
of this rights
offering.
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9
Grant
of
LLC Purchase
Privileges.
All members of the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) will be
entitled to receive the LLC purchase privileges. The LLC purchase
privileges will be granted pro rata to the holders of membership interests
in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) based on the number of
membership interests held by them on the record date. The number of
LLC purchase privileges granted to the holders of membership interests in
the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) in the LLC’s concurrent private
placement will be determined as described under “—Number of Rights; Number
of LLC Purchase Privileges.” Fractional LLC purchase privileges
resulting from such pro rata distribution will be eliminated by rounding
up to the nearest whole purchase privilege.
Issuance of Preferred
Membership Interests. Immediately prior to the
consummation of this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private
placement, the LLC will amend and restate its limited liability company
agreement to add the preferred membership interests as a new class of LLC
membership interest. Immediately following the consummation of
the LLC’s concurrent private placement, the holders of membership
interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) will be entitled to
receive preferred membership interests in amounts to be determined in
accordance with their exercise of LLC basic purchase privileges and LLC
additional purchase privileges (and, in the case of the Backstop Parties,
determined in accordance with their exercise of the Backstop Commitment
for preferred membership interests). Immediately following the
consummation of this rights offering, BioFuel Energy Corp. will contribute
all proceeds of this rights offering to the LLC, and the LLC will issue to
BioFuel Energy Corp. a number of preferred membership interests equal to
the number of depositary shares that BioFuel Energy Corp. issued in this
rights offering. The LLC will then apply the proceeds of this
rights offering, the LLC’s concurrent private placement and the Backstop
Commitment as described under “—Use of Proceeds.” Concurrent
with the making of the Cargill Stock Payment, the LLC will issue to
BioFuel Energy Corp. a number of preferred membership interests equal to
the number of depositary shares issued to Cargill in the Cargill Stock
Payment.
Terms of Preferred
Membership Interests. The preferred membership interests
will (i) be automatically convertible as described immediately below, (ii)
be entitled to pro rata distributions from the LLC, on an equivalent
one-to-one basis with the membership interests, (iii) have a liquidation
preference in the LLC equal to $0.56 per preferred membership interest and
(iv) have only limited voting rights in the LLC. For a full
description of the preferred membership interests, see “Description of
Capital Stock— LLC Preferred Membership Interests; Amended and Restated
Limited Liability Company Agreement.”
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10
Conversion of
Preferred Membership Interests. Following the requisite
stockholder approval, all preferred membership interests will
automatically convert into membership interests on a one-for-one basis and
the holders of the preferred membership interests (other than BioFuel
Energy Corp.) will also receive one share of class B common stock for each
membership interest received upon conversion.
Purpose of LLC’s
Concurrent Private Placement. The LLC’s concurrent private
placement has been structured so as to provide the holders of membership
interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.), who hold
membership interests that are exchangeable on a one-for-one basis for
shares of common stock, with a private placement that is economically
equivalent to this rights offering.
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Number
of Rights; Number
of LLC Purchase Privileges
|
The
number of subscription rights distributed to our record holders will be
determined by dividing the Offering Size (as defined below) by
$0.56.
The
number of LLC purchase privileges granted in the LLC’s concurrent private
placement will be determined by dividing the Private Placement Size (as
defined below) by $0.56. We expect to distribute a total of
64,210,390 subscription rights. As a result, approximately
2.5214 subscription rights will be distributed per share of common
stock.
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Rights
Price
|
The
“rights price” for this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private
placement means $0.56, which was calculated pursuant to the Rights
Offering Letter Agreement as the dollar amount equal to 25% of the average
per share closing price of our common stock for the five trading days
immediately following the date of the initial filing of the registration
statement of which this prospectus is a part.
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The
rights price of $0.56 represents a significant discount to the market
price of our common stock at the time of determination. This
rights price represented an approximately 66% discount to the closing
price of our common stock on December 13,
2010.
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Aggregate
Size; Offering Size; Private Placement Size
|
The
“Aggregate Size” of this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private
placement will be an aggregate amount sufficient to (i) repay all amounts
owed at the time of consummation of this rights offering, including
accrued and unpaid interest, under the Bridge Loan Agreement and the
Subordinated Debt Agreement (for more information about our Subordinated
Debt Agreement, see “Use of Proceeds”), (ii) make the Cargill Cash Payment
and (iii) pay certain fees and expenses incurred in connection with this
rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement, but is subject
to reduction as described under “—Reduction by Backstop
Parties.” The Aggregate Size (subject to any such reduction)
will be
$46,000,000.
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11
The
“Offering Size” of this rights offering will be an amount equal to the
Aggregate Size multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the
total number of shares of common stock outstanding as of the record date
and the denominator of which is the total number of shares of common stock
outstanding as of the record date plus the total number of membership
interests in the LLC held by the holders of membership interests in the
LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) as of the record
date.
The
“Private Placement Size” of the LLC’s concurrent private placement will be
an amount equal to the Aggregate Size multiplied by a fraction, the
numerator of which is the total number of membership interests in the LLC
held by the holders of membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel
Energy Corp.) as of the record date and the denominator of which is
the total number of shares of common stock outstanding as of the record
date plus the total number of membership interests in the LLC held by the
holders of membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy
Corp.) as of the record date.
The
Aggregate Size will equal the Offering Size plus the Private Placement
Size. Assuming that from December 13, 2010 until the record
date there are no changes in the total number of shares of common stock
outstanding or the total number of membership interests in the LLC held by
the holders of membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy
Corp.), we expect the Offering Size to be $35,957,818 ($17,955,968 of
which we expect will represent depositary shares purchased by the Backstop
Parties directly from us on a private, non-registered basis pursuant to
their basic subscription privileges) and the Private Placement Size to be
$10,042,182.
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Basic
Subscription Privilege
|
The
basic subscription privilege of each subscription right will entitle you
to purchase one depositary share per subscription right at a rights price
per depositary share equal to $0.56. Under the Rights Offering
Letter Agreement described below, the Backstop Parties have agreed,
subject to certain conditions, to exercise their basic subscription
privileges in full (subject to reduction in certain
circumstances). Any despositary shares purchased by the
Backstop Parties pursuant to their basic subscription privileges will be
purchased directly from us on a private basis and are not being registered
pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a
part.
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Over-Subscription
Privilege
|
If
you fully exercise your basic subscription privilege, you will be entitled
to subscribe for additional depositary shares that remain unsubscribed as
a result of any unexercised basic subscription privileges pursuant to your
over-subscription privilege. The over-subscription privilege
allows a holder to subscribe for an additional amount of depositary shares
equal to up to 100% of the depositary shares for which such holder was
otherwise entitled to subscribe. The Backstop Parties may
purchase depositary shares pursuant to their over-subscription
privileges. Any depositary shares purchased by the Backstop
Parties pursuant to their over-subscription privileges will be purchased
directly from us on a private basis and are not being registered pursuant
to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a
part.
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If
there is a sufficient number of depositary shares available to fully
satisfy the over-subscription privilege requests of all holders following
the exercise of subscription rights under their basic subscription
privileges, all over-subscription requests will be honored in full.
If insufficient depositary shares are available to fully satisfy the
over-subscription privilege requests of all holders, the available
unsubscribed depositary shares will be distributed proportionately among
those holders who exercised their over-subscription privilege based on the
number of depositary shares each holder subscribed for pursuant to their
over-subscription privilege. Fractional depositary shares resulting
from the proportionate distribution of unsubscribed depositary shares
pursuant to the over-subscription privilege will be eliminated by rounding
down to the nearest whole
share.
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12
If
and to the extent that the Backstop Parties determine, after
consultation with us, that the exercise of over-subscription
privileges would result in adverse tax, legal or regulatory consequences
to us or any of the Backstop Parties, we
may reduce or eliminate, pro rata for all holders of subscription rights,
the exercise of over-subscription privileges. In the event that the
exercise of over-subscription privileges is so reduced, the available
unsubscribed depositary shares will be distributed proportionately among
those holders who exercised their over-subscription privilege based on the
number of depositary shares each holder subscribed for pursuant to their
over-subscription privilege.
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The
Depositary Shares
|
General.
Each depositary share will represent a fractional interest in a share of
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock equal to the fraction
determined by dividing 2,000,000 by the total number of depositary shares
actually purchased in this rights offering and pursuant to the Backstop
Commitment and will entitle the holder of such depositary share, through
the depositary, to a proportional fractional interest in the rights and
preferences of such share of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock, including conversion, dividend, liquidation and voting rights,
subject to the terms of the deposit agreement.
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The
Depositary. The holders of depositary shares will exercise
their proportional rights in the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock through the depositary. The depositary for the depositary
shares will be BNY Mellon Shareowner Services.
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Dividends.
The depositary will deliver any cash it receives in respect of dividends
or other distributions on the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock to the holders of the depositary shares in proportion to the number
of outstanding depositary shares held by such holders, on the date of
receipt or as soon as practicable thereafter.
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Voting.
To the extent practicable, the depositary will vote the amount of the
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock represented by any
depositary shares in accordance with the voting instructions it receives
(if any) from holders of such depositary shares. As described
immediately below, the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
have only limited voting rights.
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Distribution of Common
Stock. As described below, upon conversion of the Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock, each depositary share shall
entitle the holder thereof to receive one share of common stock and, upon
the distribution of one share of common stock to the holder of each such
depositary share, each such depositary share shall be automatically
cancelled and have no further value.
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The
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
|
General.
Upon the consummation of this rights offering, our board of directors will
designate and issue 2,000,000 shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock which we will deposit with the depositary. The
depositary will be the sole holder of shares of the Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock. Twelve business days after the
consummation of this rights offering, we expect to issue additional
depositary shares to Cargill in order to make the Cargill Stock
Payment. In order to issue the depositary shares that will make up
the Cargill Stock Payment, we expect to issue and deposit with the
depositary a number of additional shares of Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock that corresponds to the aggregate fractional
interests in shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
that the newly issued depositary shares
represent.
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13
Dividends.
The holders of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock will be
entitled to receive dividends or distributions when, as and if such
dividends or distributions are paid to the holders of our common stock;
provided that each share of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock shall entitle the holder to receive any such dividends or
distributions in an amount equal to the aggregate dividends or
distributions that would be entitled to be received by holders of a number
of shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing the
total number of depositary shares actually purchased in this rights
offering and pursuant to the Backstop Commitment by
2,000,000.
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||
Liquidation
Preference. In the event of our voluntary or involuntary
liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the holders of the Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock will be entitled to receive, before
any payment or distribution is made to holders of common stock, a
liquidation preference in an amount equal to $0.56 multiplied by the
quotient obtained by dividing the total number of depositary shares
actually purchased in this rights offering and pursuant to the Backstop
Commitment by 2,000,000.
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||
Voting. The
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock will have no voting rights
except that we will not, without the approval of at least a majority of
the shares of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock then
outstanding, (i) authorize or issue additional shares of Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock of the same series (provided that
no such approval shall be required in respect of any shares of Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock to be authorized and issued in
connection with the Cargill Stock Payment), (ii) authorize or issue any
other series of preferred equity securities which are senior or on parity
with respect to liquidation or dividend payments to the Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock or (iii) amend our certificate of
incorporation and bylaws if the amendment would adversely affect the
rights, preferences or privileges of the holders of the Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock.
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||
Conversion.
The Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock is automatically
convertible into shares of common stock as described immediately
below.
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||
Conversion
of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock into Common
Stock
|
Each
share of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock shall, following
the requisite stockholder approval, automatically convert into a number of
shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing the
total number of depositary shares actually purchased in this rights
offering and pursuant to the Backstop Commitment by 2,000,000 (which we
refer to as the “Conversion
Rate”).
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14
Upon
conversion of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock, each
depositary share shall entitle the holder thereof to receive one share of
common stock and, upon the distribution of one share of common stock to
the holder of each such depositary share, each such depositary share shall
be automatically cancelled and have no further value. The depositary
will distribute the shares of common stock it receives upon conversion of
the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock to the holders of the
depositary shares entitled to receive such distribution in proportion to
the number of outstanding depositary shares held by each such holder, on
the date of receipt or as soon as practicable
thereafter.
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||
Requisite
Stockholder Approval
|
The
requisite stockholder approval means the approval by the holders of our
common stock and class B common stock of the authorization and issuance of
all additional shares of common stock issuable (i) upon conversion of all
shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock at the
Conversion Rate and (ii) upon the exchange on a one-for-one basis of all
membership interests in the LLC that would be received by the holders of
membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.)
following the conversion of all preferred membership interests they
receive in the LLC’s concurrent private placement for membership
interests. To the extent necessary, the requisite stockholder
approval would also include the authorization of all additional shares of
class B common stock issuable upon the conversion of all preferred
membership interests received by the holders of membership interests in
the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) in the LLC’s concurrent private
placement.
Unless
and until the requisite stockholder approval is obtained, (i) no shares of
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock will convert into shares
of common stock (and therefore no shares of common stock will be available
for distribution by the depositary to the holders of the depositary
shares) and (ii) no preferred membership interests in the LLC will convert
into membership interests or, in the case of holders other than BioFuel
Energy Corp., the corresponding shares of class B common stock. We
intend to seek the requisite stockholder approval as soon as
practicable.
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|
Shares
of Common Stock Outstanding Before this Rights
Offering
|
25,465,728 shares
of our common stock and 7,111,985 shares of our class B common stock were
outstanding as of December 13, 2010.
|
|
Shares
Outstanding After Completion of this Rights Offering
|
Immediately
following the consummation of this rights offering and the LLC’s
concurrent private placement and before the conversion of any shares of
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock into shares of common
stock, assuming that neither the size of this rights offering nor the size
of the Basic Commitment or Backstop Commitment is reduced by the Backstop
Parties, assuming that there is no LLC Backstop Reallocation (as defined
below) and before giving effect to the Cargill Stock Payment, we expect
that 64,210,390 depositary shares will be issued in this rights offering
representing 2,000,000 shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock.
Following
the consummation of this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private
placement and upon the conversion of all shares of Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock into shares of common stock, assuming that
neither the size of this rights offering nor the size of the Basic
Commitment or Backstop Commitment is reduced by the Backstop Parties,
assuming that there is no LLC Backstop Reallocation (as defined below) and
before giving effect to the Cargill Stock Payment, we expect that
64,210,390 additional shares of common stock will be issued in connection
with the conversion of all 2,000,000 shares of Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock (resulting in there being 89,676,118 total
shares of common stock
outstanding).
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15
Preferred
Membership Interests in the LLC Outstanding After Completion of this
Rights Offering and the LLC’s Concurrent Private
Placement
|
Immediately
following the consummation of this rights offering and the LLC’s
concurrent private placement and before conversion of any preferred
membership interests into common membership interests, assuming that
neither the size of this rights offering nor the size of the Basic
Commitment or Backstop Commitment is reduced by the Backstop Parties,
assuming that there is no LLC Backstop Reallocation and before giving
effect to the Cargill Stock Payment, we expect that 82,142,858 preferred
membership interests will be issued, with 64,210,390 being issued to
BioFuel Energy Corp. and 17,932,468 being issued to the holders of
membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy
Corp.).
Following
the consummation of this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private
placement and upon the conversion of all preferred membership interests
into common membership interests, assuming that neither the size of this
rights offering nor the size of the Basic Commitment or Backstop
Commitment is reduced by the Backstop Parties, assuming that there is no
LLC Backstop Reallocation and before giving effect to the Cargill Stock
Payment, we expect that 82,142,858 additional common membership interests
will be issued and that 17,932,468 additional shares of class B common
stock will be issued to the holders of membership interests in the LLC
(other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) (resulting in there being 25,044,453
total shares of class B common stock
outstanding).
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|
Rights
Offering Letter Agreement
|
In
connection with this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private
placement, we have entered into a Rights Offering Letter Agreement with
the Backstop Parties. The Rights Offering Letter Agreement, as
amended, sets forth, among other things, the terms and conditions of this
rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement, including the
participation and backstop commitments of the Backstop
Parties.
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|
Backstop
Parties’ Basic Commitment and Backstop Commitment
|
Subject
to the terms and conditions set forth in the Rights Offering Letter
Agreement, as amended, the Backstop Parties have agreed to (i) purchase
depositary shares in an amount equal to their full basic subscription
privileges and participate in the LLC’s concurrent private placement for
their full LLC basic purchase privileges (which we refer to as the “Basic
Commitment”) and (ii) purchase immediately prior to expiration of this
rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement (x) all of the
available depositary shares not otherwise sold in this rights offering
following the exercise of all other holders’ basic subscription privileges
and over-subscription privileges and (y) all of the available preferred
membership interests in the LLC not otherwise sold in the LLC’s concurrent
private placement following the exercise of all LLC basic purchase
privileges and LLC additional purchase privileges of all other holders of
membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) (which
we refer to as the “Backstop Commitment”).
The
price per depositary share or preferred membership interest paid by the
Backstop Parties pursuant to the Backstop Commitment will be equal to
$0.56 (and therefore will be equal to the price paid by the other holders
in this rights offering and in the LLC’s concurrent private placement).
The
Backstop Parties may purchase depositary shares pursuant to their
over-subscription privileges and exercise their LLC additional purchase
privileges in the LLC’s concurrent private placement.
Any
depositary shares purchased by the Backstop Parties pursuant to the Basic
Commitment, the Backstop Commitment or their over-subscription privileges
will be purchased directly from us on a private basis and are not being
registered pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus
is a part.
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|
Reduction
by Backstop Parties
|
Notwithstanding
the foregoing, the Rights Offering Letter Agreement provides that the
Backstop Parties may (i) reduce the number of depositary shares that they
would otherwise be obligated to purchase pursuant to the Basic Commitment
or Backstop Commitment or (ii) cause us to reduce the aggregate number of
depositary shares offered in this rights offering, in the event that the
Backstop Parties determine, in their sole discretion, that the
consummation of this rights offering, the Basic Commitment or the Backstop
Commitment would result in adverse tax, legal or regulatory consequences
to us or any of the Backstop Parties. We expect that any such
reduction would reduce the proceeds available to us from this rights
offering.
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16
In
the event that the Backstop Parties cause us to reduce the aggregate
number of depositary shares offered in this rights offering or reduce the
number of depositary shares that they would otherwise be obligated to
purchase pursuant to the Basic Commitment or Backstop Commitment, this
rights offering would proceed with us and the Backstop Parties using
commercially reasonable best efforts to structure and consummate an
alternative transaction to take the place of the issuance of the
depositary shares not purchased in this rights offering or pursuant to the
Basic Commitment or Backstop Commitment. The alternative transaction
would be structured so as to preserve the economic benefits to the parties
to the Rights Offering Letter Agreement as if this rights offering had
been consummated in full without giving effect to such reduction.
Nevertheless, it is not certain that we would be able to consummate an
alternative transaction to raise additional proceeds. If we cannot
consummate such an alternative transaction following a reduction of this
rights offering, we may not have sufficient funds available to repay the
Bridge Loan at maturity or to make the other payments contemplated by the
use of proceeds of this rights offering. See “Risk Factors—Risks
Related to Our Business and Industry—The pending maturity of our Bridge
Loan, unless extended, raises substantial doubt about our ability to
continue as a going concern.”
In
addition, one or more of the Backstop Parties may elect either (i) to
exercise their respective Backstop Commitments with respect to all or a
portion of the available depositary shares not otherwise sold in this
rights offering following the exercise of all other holders’ basic
subscription privileges and over-subscription privileges by purchasing a
new class of class B preferred membership interests in the LLC (instead of
purchasing such available depositary shares) in the event that such
Backstop Parties determine, in their sole discretion, that the purchase of
such available depositary shares would result in adverse tax, legal or
regulatory consequences to us or such Backstop Parties, which we refer to
as a “LLC Backstop Reallocation,” or (ii) to not exercise their respective
Backstop Commitments with respect to all or a portion of the available
depositary shares not otherwise sold in this rights offering following the
exercise of all other holders’ basic subscription privileges and
over-subscription privileges in the event that such Backstop Parties
determine, in their sole discretion, that the purchase of such available
depositary shares would result in adverse tax, legal or regulatory
consequences to us or such Backstop Parties. Any election
contemplated by clause (ii) of the prior sentence would reduce the
proceeds of this rights offering.
In
the event of a LLC Backstop Reallocation, the LLC will issue such class B
preferred membership interests to the applicable Backstop Parties (in
equal number to the number of available depositary shares not purchased
because of such LLC Backstop Reallocation) in exchange for payment of
$0.56 for each class B preferred membership interest
purchased. The class B preferred membership interests, if
issued, would have the same terms as the preferred membership interests
(including as to conversion, distribution, liquidation and other rights),
except that, upon conversion of such class B preferred membership
interests, holders of such class B preferred membership interests would
receive membership interests in the LLC that would not be exchangeable
(together with the corresponding shares of our class B common stock) for
shares of our common stock.
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17
Conditions
to Backstop Parties’ Obligations
|
The
Backstop Parties’ obligations to purchase any depositary shares pursuant
to the Basic Commitment or the Backstop Commitment are subject to various
conditions as described under “The Rights Offering—Rights Offering Letter
Agreement—Conditions to Backstop Parties’ Obligations.”
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|
Termination
|
The
obligations of the Backstop Parties under the Rights Offering Letter
Agreement are subject to termination immediately, upon the election of the
Greenlight Parties, at any time prior to the consummation of this rights
offering upon the occurrence of any of the following: (i) the
termination of the Bridge Loan Agreement; (ii) us entering into a
definitive agreement with respect to a Substitute Transaction; (iii) the
Greenlight Parties, in their reasonable judgment, determining that the
conditions to the Backstop Parties’ obligations are incapable of being
satisfied by January 24, 2011; (iv) there having occurred any material
adverse change, or any development involving a prospective material
adverse change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the
earnings, business, operations or properties of us and our subsidiaries,
taken as a whole; (v) the breach of any covenant or other provision of the
Rights Offering Letter Agreement by us that has occurred and cannot be
cured or satisfied with the passage of time or, if capable of being cured
or satisfied, cannot be cured or satisfied prior to March 24, 2011; (vi)
our common stock no longer being listed on a national securities exchange;
or (vii) our adoption of any plan of merger, consolidation,
reorganization, liquidation or dissolution or filing of a petition in
bankruptcy.
Additionally,
the Rights Offering Letter Agreement provides that the obligations of the
parties to the Rights Offering Letter Agreement may be terminated by
either the Greenlight Parties or us upon the occurrence of (a) another
party’s material breach of any of the representations, warranties or
covenants where such breach remains uncured for a period of five days
after receipt of notice of such breach or (b) the issuance by any
governmental authority of any ruling or order enjoining the consummation
of a material portion of the rights offering or any related
transactions. As described under “—Substitute Transaction,” we also
have the ability to terminate the Rights Offering Letter Agreement in
certain circumstances in connection with a Substitute
Transaction.
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18
Substitute
Transaction
|
While
the Rights Offering Letter Agreement generally requires us to consummate
this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement, the
Rights Offering Letter Agreement permits us to solicit or participate in
discussions concerning any alternative equity financing or other
transaction that would result in the (a) repayment in full of all amounts
outstanding under the Bridge Loan Agreement, (b) repayment in full of all
amounts under the Subordinated Debt Agreement and (c) satisfaction of all
obligations under the Cargill Letter (which we refer to as a “Substitute
Transaction”). If our board of directors determines that (i) we have
the opportunity to enter into a Substitute Transaction that will be
consummated within a timeframe that is not materially longer than the
anticipated timeframe for this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent
private placement but in no event later than February 1, 2011, and (ii)
such Substitute Transaction is more favorable to the holders of our common
stock than this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement
and is reasonably likely to be consummated prior to February 1, 2011, then
we will be permitted to enter into such Substitute Transaction and
terminate the Rights Offering Letter Agreement. In the event that we
do so, we will be required to repay all amounts owed under the Bridge Loan
Agreement and the Subordinated Debt Agreement and satisfy all of our
obligations under the Cargill Letter on or before the earlier of February
1, 2011 and the closing date of such Substitute Transaction. We will
also be required to pay to the Backstop Parties an aggregate break-up fee
in cash equal to $350,000.
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|
Backstop
Parties
|
The
Backstop Parties are Greenlight Capital, LP, Greenlight Capital Qualified,
LP, Greenlight Capital (Gold), LP, Greenlight Capital Offshore Partners,
Greenlight Capital Offshore Master (Gold), Ltd., Greenlight Reinsurance,
Ltd. (which we refer to collectively as the “Greenlight Parties”) and
Third Point Loan LLC (which we refer to as “Third
Point”). David Einhorn is the principal of the Greenlight
Parties and is a member of our board of directors. The Backstop
Parties or their affiliates own a significant number of shares of our
common stock and class B common stock. The Greenlight Parties
are affiliates of Greenlight Capital, Inc., which, as of December 13,
2010, owned 7,542,104 shares of common stock and 4,311,396 shares of class
B common stock, which together represented 36.4% of our outstanding total
voting stock (composed of our common stock and class B common stock) on
that date. Third Point is an affiliate of Third Point Funds,
which as of December 13, 2010, owned 5,578,800 shares of common stock,
which represented 17.1% of our outstanding total voting stock on that
date. Collectively, the Backstop Parties owned 53.5% of our
outstanding total voting stock on that
date.
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|
The
Backstop Parties’ aggregate ownership of our issued and outstanding equity
may increase substantially as a result of this rights
offering. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to the Rights
Offering—The Backstop Parties control a substantial equity interest in us
and may own an even greater equity interest in us following this rights
offering. Their interests may not coincide with yours and they
may make decisions with which you disagree.”
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||
Record
Date
|
5:00
p.m., New York City time, on December 27,
2010.
|
|
Expiration
Date of this Rights Offering
|
5:00
p.m., New York City time, on January 28,
2011.
|
|
Use
of Proceeds
|
We
intend to use the proceeds from this rights offering, the LLC’s concurrent
private placement and the Backstop Commitment: (i) first,
to pay off the Bridge Loan; (ii) second, to pay off all indebtedness under
the Subordinated Debt Agreement; (iii) third, to make the Cargill Cash
Payment; (iv) fourth, to pay certain fees and expenses incurred in
connection with this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private
placement; and (v) fifth, the remainder, if any, for general corporate
purposes. For a full description, including possible
adjustments, see “Use of Proceeds.”
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19
Transferability
of Rights
|
The
subscription rights granted to you are non-transferable and, therefore,
you may not sell, transfer or assign your subscription rights to
anyone.
|
|
Listing
|
Shares
of our common stock are currently listed on The Nasdaq Global Market under
the symbol “BIOF.”
|
|
The
depositary shares will not be listed for trading on any stock
exchange.
|
||
No
Board Recommendation
|
Our
board of directors is making no recommendation regarding your exercise of
the subscription rights. You are urged to make your decision based on your
own assessment of our business and this rights offering. Please see
“Risk Factors” for a discussion of some of the risks involved in investing
in the depositary shares.
|
|
No
Revocation or Change
|
Once
you submit the rights certificate to exercise any subscription rights or,
if you are a beneficial owner of shares of common stock that are
registered in the name of a broker, dealer, custodian bank or other
nominee, your subscription rights are exercised on your behalf by your
nominee, you are not allowed to revoke or change the exercise or request a
refund of monies paid. All exercises of subscription rights are
irrevocable, even if you subsequently learn information about us that you
consider to be unfavorable.
|
|
Extension,
Cancellation and Amendment
|
Subject
to the prior consent of the Backstop Parties, our board of directors may
extend the subscription period, and thereby postpone the expiration
date. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Rights Offering
Letter Agreement, we reserve the right to amend or modify any other terms
of this rights offering. This rights offering and the LLC’s
concurrent private placement may only be terminated with the consent of
the Backstop Parties or after termination of the Rights Offering Letter
Agreement. In the event that this rights offering is
terminated, all subscription payments received by the subscription agent
will be returned, without interest, as soon as
practicable.
|
|
Material
U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences
|
You
should not recognize income, gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax
purposes in connection with the receipt or exercise of subscription rights
to purchase depositary shares in this offering. You are urged to
consult your own tax advisor regarding the specific tax consequences to
you in connection with your participation in this rights offering.
See “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences.”
|
|
Registration
Rights
|
In
connection with our initial public offering, we entered into a
registration rights agreement pursuant to which we may be required to
register the sale of shares of our common stock held by the Backstop
Parties and our other historical equity investors (or to be acquired by
such investors upon exchange of their membership interests in the LLC for
shares of our common stock) and certain of their transferees. Under
the registration rights agreement, under certain circumstances and subject
to certain restrictions, our historical equity investors have the right to
request us to register the sale of their shares and may require us to make
available shelf registration statements permitting sales of shares into
the market from time to time over an extended
period.
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20
In
connection with this rights offering, we will amend and restate the
existing registration rights agreement to provide that we may, under
certain circumstances and subject to certain restrictions, also be
required to register the sale of shares of our common stock that are
issued to (i) the Backstop Parties and our other historical equity
investors in respect of any depositary shares that they acquire pursuant
to their basic subscription privileges or over-subscription privileges (or
the Backstop Parties acquire upon exercise of their Backstop Commitment)
following conversion of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock, (ii) the Backstop Parties and our other historical equity investors
in respect of any membership interests in the LLC that are issued to them
following conversion of any preferred membership interests in the LLC that
they acquire in the LLC’s concurrent private placement (or the Backstop
Parties acquire upon exercise of their Backstop Commitment) and (iii) the
Backstop Parties in respect of the warrants that may be issued to them in
the event that the Bridge Loan is not paid in full on or prior to March
24, 2011.
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||
Procedures
for Exercising Rights
|
Record
Holders. Subscription rights may be exercised by registered
holders of shares of our common stock by completing and signing the rights
certificate and delivering the completed and duly executed rights
certificate, together with any required signature guarantees and the full
subscription payment, to the subscription agent at the address set forth
below under “The Rights Offering—Subscription Agent.” Completed
rights certificates and related payments must be received by the
subscription agent prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the
expiration date.
Beneficial
Owners. If you are a beneficial owner of shares of our common
stock that are registered in the name of a broker, dealer, custodian bank
or other nominee and you wish to exercise your subscription rights, you
should instruct your broker, dealer, custodian bank or other nominee to
exercise your subscription rights and deliver all documents and payment on
your behalf prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the expiration
date. We will ask your record holder to notify you of this rights
offering. You should complete and return to your record holder the
appropriate subscription documentation you receive from your record
holder. Your subscription rights will not be considered exercised
unless the subscription agent receives from your broker, dealer, custodian
bank or other nominee all of the required documents and your full
subscription payment prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the
expiration date.
Nominees.
Nominees, such as brokers, dealers, custodian banks or other nominees, who
hold shares of common stock for the account of others, should notify the
respective beneficial owners as soon as possible to ascertain the
beneficial owners’ intentions and to obtain instructions with respect to
the subscription rights. If the beneficial owner so instructs, the
nominee should exercise the subscription rights on behalf of the
beneficial owner and deliver all documents and payment prior to 5:00 p.m.,
New York City time, on the expiration date.
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|
Subscription
Agent
|
BNY
Mellon Shareowner
Services.
|
21
Information
Agent
|
Okapi
Partners LLC.
|
|
Fees
and Expenses
|
We
will pay all fees and expenses of the subscription agent and the
information agent. You are responsible for paying any other
commissions, fees, taxes or other expenses incurred in connection with the
exercise of the subscription rights.
|
|
Fees
and Expenses Paid or Payable to the Backstop Parties
|
On
September 24, 2010, we paid the Backstop Parties $743,795 in consideration
of the Backstop Commitment and a fee of $776,825 in consideration of the
funding of the Bridge Loan. If the aggregate amount of this rights
offering plus the LLC’s concurrent private placement is greater than
$40,000,000, an additional fee of 4% of the excess will be payable to the
Backstop Parties as additional consideration for the Backstop Commitment
(excluding for calculation purposes any additional depositary shares or
preferred membership interests purchased by the Backstop Parties pursuant
to their Basic Commitment or their over-subscription privileges or LLC
additional purchase privileges). Further, if we sign a definitive
agreement relating to a Substitute Transaction, we will also be required
to pay the Backstop Parties a break-up fee equal to $350,000. In
addition, we have agreed to pay the reasonable fees and expenses of the
Backstop Parties incurred in connection with the Rights Offering Letter
Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby (including the
reasonable fees and expenses of legal counsel to the Backstop Parties) and
to indemnify the Backstop Parties against losses arising out of this
rights offering.
|
|
Risk
Factors
|
Investing
in the securities offered by this prospectus involves a high degree of
risk. You should carefully consider the risks described under “Risk
Factors” before buying any of the depositary shares offered
hereby.
|
22
Risk
Factors
An
investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should
carefully consider the risks described below, together with the other
information included in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus,
before making an investment decision in this rights offering.
Risks
Related to the Rights Offering
Your
equity interest in us may be diluted as a result of this rights offering and the
LLC’s concurrent private placement.
Assuming
that neither the size of this rights offering nor the size of the Basic
Commitment or Backstop Commitment is reduced by the Backstop Parties (see “—At
their discretion, the Backstop Parties have the ability to reduce the number of
depositary shares that they would otherwise be obligated to purchase pursuant to
their Basic Commitment or Backstop Commitment or cause us to reduce the
aggregate number of depositary shares offered in this rights offering”) and
assuming that there is no LLC Backstop Reallocation, this rights offering will
result in our issuance of approximately 64,210,390 depositary shares which are,
by virtue of the Conversion Rate of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock in which they represent interests and the depositary
arrangements, effectively convertible on a one-for-one basis into shares of our
common stock. In addition, the LLC’s concurrent private placement
will result in the issuance of preferred membership interests in the LLC which,
following the requisite stockholder approval, will automatically convert into
membership interests in the LLC which will be exchangeable by the holders
thereof (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) for shares of common
stock.
The
subscription price per depositary share (or preferred membership interest),
which is $0.56, represents a significant discount to the market price of our
common stock at the time of determination. This rights price
represented an approximately 66% discount to the closing price of our common
stock on December 13, 2010. In addition, the Backstop Parties have
entered into the Rights Offering Letter Agreement with us that requires them,
subject to certain conditions and possible reductions, to exercise their rights
to purchase all of the depositary shares and preferred membership interests
purchasable with their basic subscription privileges and LLC basic purchase
privileges and requires them, subject to certain conditions and possible
reductions, to purchase immediately prior to the expiration of this rights
offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement all of the available
depositary shares not otherwise sold in this rights offering following the
exercise of all other holders’ basic subscription privileges and
over-subscription privileges and all of the available preferred membership
interests not otherwise sold in the LLC’s concurrent private placement following
the exercise of all LLC basic purchase privileges and LLC additional purchase
privileges of all other holders of membership interests in the LLC (other than
BioFuel Energy Corp.). See “The Rights Offering—Rights Offering
Letter Agreement—Basic Commitment and Backstop
Commitment.”
As a
result, holders who do not fully exercise their subscription privileges should
expect that they will, at the completion of this rights offering and the LLC’s
concurrent private placement, own a smaller proportional equity interest in us
than would be the case had they fully exercised their subscription
rights.
23
The
rights price determined for this rights offering is not an indication of the
fair value of the depositary shares or our common stock.
The
rights price of $0.56 represents a significant discount to the market price of
our common stock at the time of determination, but is not necessarily related to
our book value, net worth or any other established criteria of
value. You should not consider the rights price to be an indication
of the fair value of the depositary shares offered in this rights offering or
our common stock. We cannot assure you that you will be able to sell
the depositary shares, or the common stock that you will receive upon the
automatic conversion of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
represented by such depositary shares, purchased during this rights offering at
a price that is equal to or greater than $0.56. Further, if a
substantial number of subscription rights are exercised and the holders of the
shares received upon exercise of those rights choose to sell some or all of
those shares, the resulting sales could depress the market price of our common
stock or the depositary shares after the completion of this rights offering.
You
may not revoke your subscription exercise and could be committed to buying
depositary shares.
Once you
exercise your subscription rights, you are not allowed to revoke or change the
exercise or request a refund of monies paid. All exercises of subscription
rights are irrevocable, even if you subsequently learn information about us that
you consider to be unfavorable to the exercise of your rights.
If you
exercise your subscription rights and, afterwards, the market price of our
common stock decreases below $0.56, you will have committed to buying depositary
shares, which are effectively convertible on a one-for-one basis into shares of
common stock, at a price above the prevailing market price of our common
stock. Our common stock is traded on The Nasdaq Global Market under the
symbol “BIOF,” and the closing sales price of our common stock on The Nasdaq
Global Market on December 13, 2010 was $1.63 per share. The rights
price is $0.56 per depositary share. The rights price, together with
the number of depositary shares we propose to issue and ultimately will issue if
this rights offering is completed and the number of preferred membership
interests we propose to issue and ultimately will issue if the LLC’s concurrent
private placement is completed, may result in a decrease in the market price of
our common stock.
The
Backstop Parties control a substantial equity interest in us and may own an even
greater equity interest in us following this rights offering. Their
interests may not coincide with yours and they may make decisions with which you
disagree.
The
Backstop Parties or their affiliates own a significant number of shares of our
common stock and class B common stock. The Greenlight Parties are
affiliates of Greenlight Capital, Inc., which, as of December 13, 2010, owned
7,542,104 shares of common stock and 4,311,396 shares of class B common stock,
which together represented 36.4% of our outstanding total voting stock (composed
of our common stock and class B common stock) on that date. Third
Point is an affiliate of Third Point Funds, which as of December 13, 2010, owned
5,578,800 shares of common stock, which represented 17.1% of our outstanding
total voting stock on that date. Collectively, the Backstop Parties
owned 53.5% of our outstanding total voting stock on that
date.
If the Backstop Commitment is
exercised, we expect that the Backstop Parties’ and their affiliates’ aggregate
proportional ownership of our outstanding equity will increase as a result of,
and in proportion to, the performance by the Backstop Parties of their Backstop
Commitment.
As a
result of their substantial equity interest in us, the Backstop Parties have and
will continue to have considerable influence over our corporate affairs and
actions, including those submitted to a stockholder vote. In addition,
this rights offering may result in the Backstop Parties obtaining a much greater
degree of control of our company, which could make some transactions more
difficult or impossible without the support of the Backstop Parties. The
interests of the Backstop Parties may not always coincide with our interests as
a company or the interests of our other stockholders. Accordingly, these
stockholders could cause us to enter into transactions or agreements that you
would not approve or make decisions with which you may disagree.
24
At
their discretion, the Backstop Parties have the ability to reduce the number of
depositary shares that they would otherwise be obligated to purchase pursuant to
their Basic Commitment or Backstop Commitment or cause us to reduce the
aggregate number of depositary shares offered in this rights
offering.
The Rights Offering Letter Agreement
provides that the Backstop Parties may reduce the number of depositary shares
that they would otherwise be obligated to purchase pursuant to the Basic
Commitment or Backstop Commitment or cause us to reduce the aggregate number of
depositary shares offered in this rights offering, in the event that the
Backstop Parties determine, in their sole discretion, that the consummation of
this rights offering, the Basic Commitment or the Backstop Commitment would
result in adverse tax, legal or regulatory consequences to us or any of the
Backstop Parties. We expect that any such reduction would reduce the
proceeds available to us from this rights offering and it is not certain that we
would be able to consummate an alternative transaction to take the place of the
depositary shares not purchased in this rights offering as a result of any such
reduction. If we cannot consummate such an alternative transaction, we may
not have sufficient funds available to repay the Bridge Loan at maturity or to
make the other payments contemplated by the use of proceeds of this rights
offering. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—The
pending maturity of our Bridge Loan, unless extended, raises substantial doubt
about our ability to continue as a going concern.”
In particular, the Backstop Parties may
elect to reduce the number of depositary shares that they would otherwise be
obligated to purchase pursuant to the Basic Commitment or Backstop Commitment or
cause us to reduce the aggregate number of depositary shares offered in this
rights offering if they determine that this rights offering, the Basic
Commitment or the Backstop Commitment would limit our ability to use net
operating loss carryforwards to offset future taxable income. See “—Our
ability to use net operating loss carryforwards to offset future taxable income
for U.S. federal income tax purposes may be limited as a result of this rights
offering and related transactions. The Backstop Parties may reduce or
restructure this rights offering as a result.”
Our ability to use net operating loss
carryforwards to offset future taxable income for U.S. federal income tax
purposes may be limited as a result of this rights offering and related
transactions. The Backstop Parties may reduce or restructure this rights
offering as a result.
As of
September 30, 2010, we reported federal net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards
of approximately $156 million, which will begin to expire if not used by
December 31, 2028.
For accounting purposes, a valuation
allowance is required to reduce our potential deferred tax assets if it is
determined that it is more likely than not that all or some portion of such
assets will not be realized due to the lack of sufficient taxable income.
Our financial statements currently provide a full valuation allowance against
all of our NOL carryforwards.
Our ability to utilize our tax
attributes, such as NOL carryforwards and tax credits (“Tax Attributes”), will
be subject to significant limitation for federal income tax purposes if we
undergo an “ownership change” as defined in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). For this purpose, an ownership change
generally occurs, as of any “testing date” (as defined under Section 382 of the
Code), if our “5-percent shareholders” have collectively increased their
ownership in BioFuel Energy Corp. stock by more than 50 percentage points over
their lowest percentage ownership at any time during the relevant testing
period, which generally begins the later of either January 1, 2008 or three
years preceding the relevant testing date. In general, our 5-percent
shareholders would include any (i) individual who owns 5% or more (directly,
indirectly or constructively) of BioFuel Energy Corp. stock and (ii) “public
groups” who own BioFuel Energy Corp. stock (even in certain cases if they own
less than 5% of BioFuel Energy Corp. stock) or stock in higher tier entities who
own 5% or more (directly, indirectly or constructively) of BioFuel Energy Corp.
stock. A “public group” generally consists of a group of persons each of whom
owns (directly, indirectly or constructively) less than 5% of BioFuel Energy
Corp. stock. An ownership change may therefore occur following substantial
changes in the direct or indirect ownership of our outstanding stock by one or
more 5-percent shareholders over this period.
25
If we were to experience an ownership
change, Section 382 of the Code imposes an annual limitation on the amount of
our post-change taxable income that may be offset by our pre-change Tax
Attributes. The limitation imposed by Section 382 for any post-change year
is generally determined by multiplying the value of BioFuel Energy Corp. stock
immediately before the ownership change by the applicable long-term tax-exempt
rate. Any unused annual limitation may, subject to certain limits, be
carried over to later years. In addition, the limitation may be increased
under certain circumstances by the “built-in gain” in our assets at the time of
the ownership change.
It is unclear whether all or a portion
of our Tax Attributes are or will be subject to a limitation under Section 382
of the Code following this rights offering, either as a result of an ownership
change experienced by us in the past or an ownership change to be experienced by
us on account of this rights offering and related transactions. The
determination of whether this rights offering would result in an ownership
change under Section 382 of the Code depends, in part, on the Offering Size (in
particular, the total number of depositary shares actually purchased in this
rights offering and pursuant to the Backstop Commitment), prior ownership shifts
involving 5-percent shareholders, the percentage in which each common
stockholder exercises its subscription rights and the effect of related
transactions in conjunction with this rights offering (such as changes resulting
from the Cargill Stock Payment or that would result if the warrants exercisable
for an aggregate of 15% of our common stock on a fully diluted basis are issued
to the Backstop Parties as a result of us being unable to pay the Bridge Loan in
full on or before its maturity date).
The Rights Offering Letter Agreement
provides that the Backstop Parties may reduce the number of depositary shares
that they would otherwise be obligated to purchase pursuant to the Basic
Commitment or Backstop Commitment or cause us to reduce the aggregate number of
depositary shares offered in this rights offering, in the event that the
Backstop Parties determine, in their sole discretion, that the consummation of
this rights offering, the Basic Commitment or the Backstop Commitment would
result in adverse tax consequences to the Backstop Parties or to us. This
rights offering may therefore be reduced or restructured in order to avoid an
ownership change under Section 382.
Even if this rights offering and
related transactions do not result in an ownership change under Section 382, it
is possible that future changes in the ownership of BioFuel Energy Corp. stock
by 5-percent shareholders, including certain changes in the ownership of any
entity that owns 5% or more of BioFuel Energy Corp. stock, will result in an
ownership change under Section 382.
To reduce the likelihood of an
ownership change, our board of directors may take actions to impose transfer
restrictions or other protective mechanisms, such as adopting a “tax benefit
preservation plan,” which could limit the ability of stockholders to acquire 5%
or more of the outstanding shares of BioFuel Energy Corp. stock (or, if any
stockholder already owns in excess of 5% of BioFuel Energy Corp. stock, from
acquiring any additional shares). Any such tax benefit preservation plan,
if adopted, would be adopted on terms and conditions approved by our board of
directors.
Our ability to use our Tax Attributes
will also depend on the amount of taxable income we generate in future
periods. In addition, any LLC Backstop Reallocation could reduce BioFuel
Energy Corp.’s membership interests in the LLC relative to the LLC membership
interests of the holders of membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel
Energy Corp.) and thus reduce the amount of taxable income allocated to BioFuel
Energy Corp. that could be offset by our Tax Attributes. Our Tax
Attributes may expire before we can generate sufficient taxable income to
utilize them in full.
26
The subscription rights are not
transferable and there will be no market for the subscription
rights.
You may not sell, transfer or assign
your subscription rights. Because the subscription rights are
non-transferable, there will be no market or other means for you to directly
realize any value associated with your subscription rights. You must
exercise your subscription rights and acquire depositary shares in order to
realize any value that may be embedded in your subscription rights.
We
may cancel this rights offering at any time prior to the expiration of this
rights offering. If we cancel this rights offering, the only obligation to
you that we or the subscription agent will have will be to return your
subscription payments.
We may,
subject to the terms of the Rights Offering Letter Agreement, decide not to
continue with this rights offering or terminate this rights offering prior to
the expiration of this rights offering. See “The Rights
Offering—Termination.” If we terminate this rights offering, all
subscription rights will expire without value and the only obligation that we or
the subscription agent will have with respect to subscription rights that have
been exercised will be to return any subscription payments the subscription
agent has received, without interest, as soon as practicable.
If
you do not act promptly and follow the subscription instructions, your exercise
of subscription rights will be rejected.
Holders
that desire to purchase depositary shares in this rights offering must act
promptly to ensure that all required forms and payments are actually received by
the subscription agent prior to the expiration of this rights offering at
5:00 p.m., New York City time, on January 28, 2011. If you are a
beneficial holder, you must act promptly to ensure that your broker, dealer,
custodian bank or other nominee acts for you and that all required forms and
payments are actually received by the subscription agent prior to the expiration
of this rights offering. We are not responsible if your broker,
dealer, custodian bank or other nominee fails to ensure that all required forms
and payments are actually received by the subscription agent prior to the
expiration of this rights offering. If you fail to complete and sign
the required subscription forms, send an incorrect payment amount or otherwise
fail to follow the subscription procedures that apply to your exercise in this
rights offering prior to the expiration of this rights offering, the
subscription agent will reject your subscription or accept it only to the extent
of the payment received. Neither we nor the subscription agent
undertake to contact you concerning an incomplete or incorrect subscription form
or payment, nor are we under any obligation to correct such forms or
payment. We have the sole discretion to determine whether a
subscription exercise properly complies with the subscription procedures.
We
cannot guarantee that you will receive any or all of the amounts of depositary
shares for which you over-subscribed and, in certain circumstances, your ability
to over-subscribe could be reduced.
Holders
who fully exercise their basic subscription privilege will be entitled to
subscribe for an additional amount of depositary shares equal to up to 100% of
the depositary shares for which such holder was otherwise entitled to
subscribe. We can provide no assurance that you will actually be entitled
to purchase the number of depositary shares you subscribe for pursuant to your
over-subscription privilege at the expiration of this rights offering. If
insufficient depositary shares are available to fully satisfy the
over-subscription privilege requests of all holders, the available unsubscribed
depositary shares will be distributed proportionately among those holders who
exercised their over-subscription privilege based on the number of depositary
shares each holder subscribed for pursuant to their over-subscription
privilege.
27
In
addition, if and to the extent that the Backstop Parties determine, after
consultation with us, that the exercise of over-subscription privileges
would result in adverse tax, legal or regulatory consequences to us or any of
the Backstop Parties, we may
reduce or eliminate, pro rata for all holders of subscription rights, the
exercise of over-subscription privileges. In the event that the exercise of
over-subscription privileges is so reduced, the available unsubscribed
depositary shares will be distributed proportionately among those holders who
exercised their over-subscription privilege based on the number of depositary
shares each holder subscribed for pursuant to their over-subscription
privilege.
Risks
Related to the Depositary Shares
You
are also making an investment decision in the Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock and our common stock as well as in the depositary
shares.
As
described in this prospectus, you are investing in depositary shares that
represent fractional interests in the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock. The depositary will rely solely on the dividend payments and other
distributions on the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock it receives
from us to fund all dividend payments and other distributions on the depositary
shares. In addition, because the depositary shares effectively convert
into shares of common stock on a one-for-one basis, the trading price of our
common stock will directly affect the market price of the depositary
shares. Any decline in the market price of shares of our common stock and
any related decline in value of the depositary shares may be substantial and,
depending on the extent of the decline, you could lose all or substantially all
of your investment in the depositary shares.
The
market price of our common stock is volatile and may decline before or after the
subscription rights expire.
The
trading price of our common stock is volatile and could be subject to
fluctuations in response to a number of factors, many of which are beyond our
control. These factors include, among other things, the announcement and
consummation of this rights offering, the LLC’s concurrent private placement or
any alternative transactions, the factors described “Risk Factors—Risks Related
to Our Business,” actual or anticipated variations in our costs of doing
business, operating results and cash flow, the nature and content of our
earnings releases and our competitors’ earnings releases, changes in financial
estimates by securities analysts, future sales of our equity securities,
business conditions in our markets and the general state of the securities
markets, changes in market prices for our products or for our raw materials,
changes in capital markets, departures of key personnel and governmental
legislation or regulation, as well as general economic and market conditions,
such as downturns in our economy and recessions. As a result, the price of
our common stock could fluctuate widely, and those fluctuations could materially
reduce our common stock price.
Holders
of the depositary shares will have no rights as holders of common stock until
they acquire our common stock upon conversion of the Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock.
Until you
acquire shares of our common stock upon conversion of the Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock and delivery by the depositary following conversion
of the depositary shares, you will have no direct rights with respect to our
common stock, including, without limitation, voting rights. Holders of the
depositary shares must act through the depositary to exercise any voting rights
in respect of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock and must
receive any dividends or distributions in respect of the Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock only through the depositary. As a result,
holders of the depositary shares will not have the right to vote on actions
customarily subject to stockholder vote or approval, including the election of
directors, the approval of significant transactions and amendments to our
certificate of incorporation that would not adversely affect the rights,
preferences or privileges of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock. As a result, such holders’ ability to exercise influence over us is
extremely limited. Upon conversion, you will be entitled to exercise your
rights as a holder of our common stock only as to matters for which the record
date occurs after the close of business on the relevant date that you received
shares of common stock.
28
The
secondary market for the depositary shares may be illiquid.
The
depositary shares are a new issue of securities for which there currently is no
market. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the development
or liquidity of any market for the depositary shares. If an active trading
market does not develop or is not maintained, the market price and liquidity of
the depositary shares may be adversely affected. In that case, you may not
be able to sell the depositary shares that you hold at a particular time or at a
favorable price.
Holders
of the depositary shares will be entitled to receive shares of common stock
only if and when our stockholders approve the authorization and issuance of
common stock upon conversion of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock.
The
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock, which the depositary shares
represent fractional interests in, will only convert into shares of common stock
when the authorization and issuance of shares of common stock in connection with
such conversion has been approved by our stockholders. Because the
holders of depositary shares will not be entitled to receive shares of common
stock until the conversion of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock for common stock, they will hold depositary shares until we receive the
requisite stockholder approval. Until holders of depositary shares
acquire shares of our common stock upon conversion of the Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock, they will have no direct rights with respect to our
common stock. Holders of the depositary shares must act through the
depositary to exercise any voting rights in respect of the Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock and must receive any dividends or distributions in
respect of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock only through the
depositary. As a result, holders of the depositary shares will not
have the right to vote on actions customarily subject to stockholder vote or
approval, including the election of directors, the approval of significant
transactions and amendments to our certificate of incorporation that would not
adversely affect the rights, preferences or privileges of the Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock. In addition, a trading market
for the depositary shares may not develop or may be less liquid than the trading
market for our common stock and the market price of the depositary shares may be
adversely affected as a result.
Under the
Rights Offering Letter Agreement, we are obligated to use our best efforts to
obtain such approval by January 24, 2011. However, it is possible that the
stockholder approval could be significantly delayed beyond January 24, 2011 or
may never be obtained.
You
may suffer dilution on the common stock that is ultimately issuable to you upon
conversion of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock.
The
terms of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock have only limited
anti-dilution provisions that apply in the event of certain stock splits, stock
dividends and sales of common stock at a price below the rights price, and do
not restrict our ability to offer shares of our common stock in the future or to
engage in other transactions that could dilute our common stock. We
have no obligation to consider the interests of the holders of the Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock or the depositary shares in engaging in
any such offering or transaction. If we issue additional shares of
our common stock, that issuance may adversely affect the price of our common
stock and the depositary shares. The price of our common stock and
the depositary shares may also be adversely affected by the existence, issuance
or sale of securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or of
securities that represent the right to receive, our common stock or other
dilution of our equity, or by our announcement that any such issuance or sale or
other dilution may occur.
29
In
particular, in the event that the Bridge Loan is not paid in full on or before
March 24, 2011, we will be required to issue warrants to the Backstop Parties
exercisable at an exercise price of $0.01 per share for an aggregate of 15% of
our common stock on a fully diluted basis as of the date the warrants are
issued. The possibility that these warrants may be issued may prove to be
a hindrance to our efforts to raise future equity and debt funding, and the
issuance and exercise of such warrants would dilute the percentage ownership
interest of our other stockholders and likely would reduce the value of their
stock. In addition, we expect to issue additional depositary shares in
connection with the Cargill Stock Payment, and the exact number of depositary
shares issuable to Cargill will not be known until after this rights offering is
consummated (for a discussion how the number of depositary shares that will be
issued to Cargill will be calculated, see “Prospectus Summary—Related Agreements
and Transactions—Cargill Letter Agreement”). Further, following the
requisite stockholder approval, all preferred membership interests in the LLC
issued in connection with the LLC’s concurrent private placement will
automatically convert into membership interests in the LLC which will be
exchangeable by the holders thereof (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) for shares
of common stock.
The
liquidation preference of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
will be subordinate to those of holders of our indebtedness and of any senior
equity securities we may issue in the future and may be subject to the equal
rights of other equity securities.
There are
no restrictions in the terms of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock on our ability to incur indebtedness. In addition, while the
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock have certain veto rights over
the issuance of other series of preferred equity securities that are senior or
on parity with respect to liquidation payments to the Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock, it is possible that such preferred equity
securities could be issued in the future. If we were to liquidate our
business, we would be required to repay all of our outstanding indebtedness and
to satisfy the liquidation preferences of any then outstanding senior equity
securities before we could make any distributions on the Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock. We could have insufficient cash
available to do so, in which case holders of the depositary shares would not
receive any payment on the amounts due them relating to the liquidation
preference of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock. Moreover, any amounts remaining after the payment of our
indebtedness and any senior securities would be split equally among the holders
of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock and any other holders of
our securities that may be issued in the future that rank on parity with the
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock as to liquidation
preferences. The liquidation preference of the preferred membership
interests in the LLC will rank effectively on parity with the liquidation
preference of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock (as
represented by the depositary shares).
Risks
Related to Our Business and Industry
Narrow commodity margins have resulted
in decreased liquidity and continue to present a significant risk to our ability
to service our debt.
Our
results of operations and financial condition depend substantially on the price
of our main commodity input, corn, relative to the price of our main commodity
product, ethanol, which is known in the industry as the “crush spread.” The
prices of these commodities are volatile and beyond our control. For
example, from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2010, spot corn prices on the
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) ranged from $3.01 to $7.49 per bushel, with an
average price of $3.99 per bushel, while CBOT ethanol prices ranged from $1.40
to $2.86 per gallon, with an average price of $1.77 per gallon. However,
the volatility in corn prices and the volatility in ethanol prices are not
correlated, and as a result, the crush spread fluctuated widely throughout 2009,
ranging from $0.06 per gallon to $0.68 per gallon, and during the first half of
2010, ranging from $0.15 to $0.47. Since we commenced operations, we have
from time to time entered into derivative financial instruments such as futures
contracts, swaps and option contracts with the objective of limiting our
exposure to changes in commodities prices. However, we are currently able
to engage in such hedging activities only on a limited basis due to our
lack of financial resources, and we may not have the financial resources to
increase or conduct any of these hedging activities in the future. In
addition, if geographic basis differentials are not hedged, they could cause our
hedging programs to be ineffective or less effective than
anticipated.
30
As a
result of the volatility of the prices for these and other items, our results
fluctuate substantially and in ways that are largely beyond our control.
For example, we were profitable in the fourth quarter of 2009, when crush
spreads averaged $0.49 per gallon. However, as reported in the unaudited
consolidated financial statements incorporated by reference in this prospectus,
we reported net losses of $12.0 million and $22.4 million during the three
and six months ended June 30, 2010, respectively. During each of these
periods, crush spreads contracted significantly, averaging $0.24 and $0.28 per
gallon during the three and six months ended June 30, 2010,
respectively.
Narrow
commodity margins present a significant risk to our cash flows and
liquidity. We cannot predict when or if crush spreads will narrow.
In the event crush spreads narrow, we may choose to curtail operations at our
plants or cease operations altogether. In addition, we have fully utilized
our debt service reserve availability under our $230 million senior secured
credit facility (of which $192.5 million was outstanding as of September 30,
2010) with a syndicate of lenders (“Senior Debt Facility”) and we may expend all
of our other sources of liquidity, in which event we would not be able to pay
principal or interest on our debt, which would lead to an event of default under
our Bridge Loan Agreement, Senior Debt Facility and Subordinated Debt Agreement
and, in the absence of forbearance, debt service abeyance or other
accommodations from our lenders, require us to seek relief through a filing
under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. We expect fluctuations in the crush spread to
continue. Any further reduction in the crush spread may cause our operating
margins to deteriorate further, resulting in an impairment charge in addition to
causing the consequences described above.
We are currently unable to hedge
against fluctuations in commodity prices and may be unable to do so in the
future, which further exposes us to commodity price risk.
Since we
have commenced operations, we have from time to time entered into derivative
financial instruments such as futures contracts, swaps and option contracts with
the objective of limiting our exposure to changes in commodities prices.
However, we are currently able to engage in such hedging activities only on a
limited basis due to our lack of financial resources, and we may not have
the financial resources to conduct hedging activities in the future. In
addition, ethanol futures have historically traded with an inverted price
progression, or “strip,” whereby outer month contracts are priced at lower
prices than spot or near-month contracts. In contrast, corn futures historically
have traded such that outer months have higher prices than near or spot months.
As a result, even under market conditions in which we realize positive margins
at current (spot) prices we may not be able to lock in such margins for future
production. Furthermore, because of the lack of an established futures market or
established markets for future physical delivery of ethanol, we may not be able
to price a material amount of our future production so as to permit us to hedge
a material portion of our commodities price risks.
The pending maturity of our Bridge
Loan, unless extended, raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as
a going concern.
We have
approximately $19.4 million of outstanding indebtedness under our Bridge Loan,
which matures in March 2011. We are restricted by the terms of our Senior
Debt Facility from using the funds generated by our operating subsidiaries to
repay the Bridge Loan. Therefore, even if we generate positive cash flow
from operations, under the terms of our Senior Debt Facility, we cannot use that
cash flow to repay the Bridge Loan. If this rights offering and the LLC’s
concurrent private placement do not generate sufficient proceeds to repay the
Bridge Loan, we are unlikely to have sufficient liquidity to repay the Bridge
Loan when it becomes due. The Backstop Parties may require us to reduce
the size of this rights offering or their commitment to purchase depositary
shares that are not subscribed for by other holders in this rights offering, if
the Backstop Parties determine, in their sole discretion, that the consummation
of this rights offering, the Basic Commitment or the Backstop Commitment would
result in adverse tax, legal or regulatory consequences to us or any of the
Backstop Parties. If we are unable to generate sufficient proceeds from this
rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement to repay the Bridge
Loan, we may seek new capital from other sources. We cannot assure you
that we will be successful in achieving any of these initiatives or, even if
successful, that these initiatives will be sufficient to address our limited
liquidity and the pending maturity of the Bridge Loan. If we are unable to
raise sufficient proceeds from this rights offering, the LLC’s concurrent
private placement or from other sources, we may be unable to continue as a going
concern, which could potentially force us to seek relief through a filing under
the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
31
We have a significant amount of
indebtedness and limited liquidity, and virtually all of our assets are pledged
to secure our senior debt.
As of
September 30, 2010, we had $192.5 million of indebtedness outstanding under our
Senior Debt Facility. In addition, if this rights offering and the LLC’s
concurrent private placement do not generate sufficient proceeds to repay the
debt under our Subordinated Debt Agreement (we refer to such debt herein as the
“Subordinated Debt”) and Bridge Loan in full, we may continue to have
indebtedness outstanding under our Bridge Loan and Subordinated Debt Agreement,
and may continue to have obligations to Cargill under the Settlement Agreement,
even after we complete this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private
placement. During our limited period of operations, we have been unable to
consistently generate positive cash flow, mostly due to the narrow crush
spread. In addition, we have had, and continue to have, severely limited
liquidity, with $10.9 million in cash on hand as of September 30,
2010. Of that $10.9 million, only $6.4 million of cash was held by
the LLC and therefore would have been available for use to repay a portion of
the Bridge Loan. The remaining $4.5 million of cash was held by our
operating subsidiaries and we are restricted by the terms of our Senior Debt
Facility from using those funds to repay the Bridge Loan. If we do
not have sufficient cash flow to service our debt, we would need to refinance
all or part of our existing debt, sell assets, borrow more money or raise
additional capital, any or all of which we may not be able to do on commercially
reasonable terms or at all. If we are unable to do so, we may be required to
curtail operations or cease operating altogether, and could be forced to seek
relief from creditors through a filing under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
Because the debt under our Senior Debt Facility subjects substantially all of
our assets to liens, there may be no assets left for stockholders in the event
of a liquidation.
Our substantial indebtedness could have
important consequences by adversely affecting our financial
position.
Our
substantial indebtedness could:
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·
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require
us to dedicate all of our cash flow from operations (after the payment of
operating expenses) to payments with respect to our indebtedness, thereby
reducing the availability of our cash flow for working capital, capital
expenditures and other general corporate
expenditures;
|
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·
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restrict
our ability to take advantage of strategic
opportunities;
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·
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limit
our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, competition or changes in
our business or industry;
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·
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limit
our ability to borrow additional
funds;
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·
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increase
our vulnerability to adverse general economic or industry
conditions;
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32
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·
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restrict
us from expanding our current facilities, building new facilities or
exploring business opportunities;
and
|
|
·
|
place
us at a competitive disadvantage relative to competitors that have less
debt or greater financial
resources.
|
Our
ability to make payments on and refinance our Senior Debt Facility will depend
on our ability to generate cash from our operations. Our ability to generate
cash from operations is subject, in large part, to our crush spread as well as
general economic, competitive, legislative and regulatory factors and other
factors that are beyond our control. During our limited period of operations we
have been unable to generate consistent positive cash flow. If this continues,
we may not be able to generate enough cash flow from operations or obtain enough
capital to service our Senior Debt Facility, finance our business operations or
fund our planned capital expenditures. If we do not have sufficient cash flow to
service our debt, we would need to refinance all or part of our existing debt,
sell assets, borrow more money or sell securities, any or all of which we may
not be able to do on commercially reasonable terms or at all.
Because
the debt under our Senior Debt Facility subjects substantially all of our assets
to liens, there may be no assets left for stockholders in the event of a
liquidation. In the event of a foreclosure on all or substantially all of our
assets, we may not be able to continue to operate as a going
concern.
We are subject to additional risks
associated with our existing debt arrangements.
Our Senior Debt
Facility. The operating subsidiaries of the LLC that own and
operate our Wood River and Fairmont plants have entered into a Senior Debt
Facility with a group of financial institutions that is secured by substantially
all of those subsidiaries’ assets. The agreement contains standard clauses
regarding occurrence of a “material adverse effect,” which is defined very
broadly and in such fashion as to be subjective. In the event our banks should
determine that a “material adverse effect” has occurred, they could declare us
in default and accelerate payment of all principal and interest
due.
The terms
of the Senior Debt Facility include customary events of default and covenants
that limit the applicable subsidiaries from taking certain actions without
obtaining the consent of the lenders. In particular, our Senior Debt Facility
places significant restrictions on the ability of those subsidiaries to
distribute cash to the LLC, which limits our ability to use cash generated
by those subsidiaries for other purposes, such as repayment of the Bridge Loan.
In addition, the Senior Debt Facility restricts those subsidiaries’ ability to
incur additional indebtedness. Under our Senior Debt Facility, if Cargill admits
in writing its inability to, or is generally unable to, pay its debts as such
debts become due, we will be deemed to be in default. In addition, should either
of our subsidiaries that are borrowers under the Senior Debt Facility admit in
writing its inability to, or is generally unable to, pay its debts as such debts
become due, we will be deemed to be in default.
A default
under our Senior Debt Facility would also constitute a default under our
Subordinated Debt Agreement and Bridge Loan Agreement and would entitle the
lenders to accelerate the repayment of amounts outstanding. In the event of a
default, the lenders could also proceed to foreclose against the assets securing
such obligations. Because the debt under our Senior Debt Facility subjects
substantially all of our assets to liens, there may be no assets left for
stockholders in the event of a liquidation. In the event of a foreclosure on all
or substantially all of our assets, we may not be able to continue to operate as
a going concern.
33
Our subordinated debt
agreement. The LLC has entered into a subordinated debt agreement
(the “Subordinated Debt Agreement”) with entities affiliated with Greenlight
Capital, Inc. and entities and an individual affiliated with Third
Point LLC. Subordinated borrowings are secured by the subsidiary equity
interests owned by the LLC. A default under our Senior Debt Facility would also
constitute a default under our Subordinated Debt and would entitle the lenders
to accelerate the repayment of amounts outstanding. In the event of a default,
the lenders could also proceed to foreclose against the assets securing such
obligations. Because the debt under our Senior Debt Facility subjects
substantially all of our assets to liens, there may be no assets left for
stockholders in the event of a liquidation. In the event of a foreclosure on all
or substantially all of our assets, we may not be able to continue to operate as
a going concern.
During the third and fourth quarters of
2008, the LLC did not make the quarterly interest payments that were due on
the last day of each quarter, which upon written notice to the LLC would
constitute an event of default under the Subordinated Debt Agreement. On
January 16, 2009, the Company announced that it had entered into an
agreement with the subordinated debt lenders, whereby future payments to the
lenders will be contingent on available cash flow, as defined. As part of the
agreement, the Subordinated Debt holders received an immediate $2.0 million
cash payment, which paid $767,000 of accrued interest due September 30,
2008 and reduced the principal balance by $1,233,000. Effective December 1,
2008, interest on the Subordinated Debt began to accrue at a 5% annual rate,
compared to the previous rate of 15%, which rate will continue to apply until
certain payment obligations have been met under the Settlement Agreement.
Although we intend to use a portion of the proceeds from this rights offering
and the LLC’s concurrent private placement to repay all of the Subordinated
Debt, if we do not generate sufficient proceeds to do so, the Subordinated Debt
Agreement will remain in effect and will have the likely effect of limiting the
ways in which we can use certain future cash flows that might otherwise have
become available for other purposes, including pursuit of business
opportunities, plant expansion or acquisitions.
A default
under our Senior Debt Facility would also constitute a default under our
Subordinated Debt Agreement and would entitle both the senior lenders and the
subordinated lenders to accelerate the repayment of amounts
outstanding.
Our Bridge Loan
Agreement. On September 24, 2010, we entered into the Bridge Loan
Agreement with the Greenlight Parties, Third Point and Greenlight APE, LLC, as
administrative agent, pursuant to which we borrowed $19,420,620. The
proceeds of the Bridge Loan were used to repay all outstanding working capital
loans under our Senior Debt Facility and to pay certain related fees and
expenses. The Bridge Loan matures on March 24, 2011, and in the event the
Bridge Loan is not paid in full on or before that date, we will issue warrants
to the Backstop Parties exercisable at an exercise price of $0.01 per share for
an aggregate of 15% of our common stock on a fully diluted basis as of the date
the warrants are issued. The Bridge Loan may be voluntarily prepaid
without penalty or premium. We intend to use a portion of the proceeds of
this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement to repay the
Bridge Loan in full. See “Use of Proceeds.” If the Bridge Loan
is not repaid in full at maturity and we are forced to issue such warrants to
the Backstop Parties, the equity ownership of our stockholders (other than the
Backstop Parties and their affiliates) will be diluted.
Our future debt facilities will
likely be secured by substantially all our assets. We expect that
the debt we will incur to finance any future needs will be incurred either
pursuant to an expanded version of our current Senior Debt Facility, a new,
separate credit facility (which would require the consent of our existing banks)
or a new corporate credit facility that would replace our current Senior Debt
Facility. In any event, it is most likely that this indebtedness would be
secured by substantially all of our assets. Because the debt under these
facilities may subject substantially all of our assets to liens, there may be no
assets left for stockholders in the event of a liquidation. Moreover, because
the Senior Debt Facility only contains limits on the amount of indebtedness that
certain of our subsidiaries may incur, we have the ability to incur substantial
additional indebtedness, and any additional indebtedness we incur could
exacerbate the risks described above.
34
The domestic ethanol industry is highly
dependent upon a myriad of federal and state legislation and regulation and any
changes in legislation or regulation could adversely affect our results of
operations and financial position.
The elimination of, or any
significant reduction in, the blenders’ credit could have a material impact on
our results of operations and financial position. The cost of production
of ethanol is made significantly more competitive with that of gasoline as a
result of federal tax incentives. The Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax
Credit, commonly referred to as the “blenders’ credit,” is a federal excise tax
incentive program that allows gasoline distributors that blend ethanol with
gasoline to receive a federal excise tax rate reduction for each blended gallon
they sold. The original $0.51 per gallon credit was reduced to $0.45 per gallon
beginning on January 1, 2009 and is scheduled to expire on December 31,
2010. It is possible that the blenders’ credit will not be renewed beyond
2010 or will be renewed on different terms. If the blenders’ credit is not
renewed, or is renewed at a reduced rate, it may decrease the demand for
ethanol, which is likely to result in lower prices for ethanol, or it may result
in a decrease in the price that gasoline blenders and marketers are able to pay
for ethanol. In such event, there would likely be a material adverse
affect on our results of operations, liquidity and financial
condition.
The elimination of or significant
changes to the Freedom to Farm Act could reduce corn supplies. In
1996, Congress passed the Freedom to Farm Act, which allows farmers continued
access to government subsidies while reducing restrictions on farmers’ decisions
about land use. This act not only increased acreage dedicated to corn crops but
also allowed farmers more flexibility to respond to increases in corn prices by
planting greater amounts of corn. The elimination of this act could reduce the
amount of corn available in future years and could reduce the farming industry’s
responsiveness to the increasing corn needs of ethanol producers.
Ethanol can be imported into the
United States duty-free from some countries, which may undermine the domestic
ethanol industry. Imported ethanol is generally subject to a $0.54
per gallon tariff that was designed to offset the “blenders’ credit” ethanol
incentive available under the federal excise tax incentive program for
refineries that blend ethanol in their gasoline. A special exemption from the
tariff exists for ethanol imported from 24 countries in Central America and the
Caribbean Islands, which is limited to a total of 7.0% of U.S. production per
year. In addition, the North American Free Trade Agreement, which went into
effect on January 1, 1994, allows Canada and Mexico to import ethanol
duty-free. Imports from the exempted countries may increase as a result of new
plants under development. The tariff is scheduled to expire on December 31,
2010. If it is not extended by Congress, imports of ethanol from non-exempt
countries may increase. Production costs for ethanol in these countries can be
significantly less than in the United States and the duty-free import of lower
price ethanol through the countries exempted from the tariff may reduce the
demand for domestic ethanol and the price at which we sell our
ethanol.
The effect of the Renewable Fuel
Standard, or RFS, program in the Energy Independence and Security Act signed
into law in December 2007 and the Energy Policy Act signed into law in August
2005 is uncertain. The use of fuel oxygenates, including ethanol,
was mandated through regulation, and much of the forecasted growth in demand for
ethanol was expected to result from additional mandated use of oxygenates. Most
of this growth was projected to occur in the next few years as the remaining
markets switch from methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) to ethanol. The Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2007 and the Energy Policy Act of 2005,
however, eliminated the mandated use of oxygenates and instead established
minimum nationwide levels of renewable fuels—ethanol, biodiesel or any other
liquid fuel produced from biomass or biogas—to be blended with gasoline. The
legislation also included provisions for trading of credits for use of renewable
fuels and authorized potential reductions in the RFS minimum by action of a
governmental administrator. The rules for implementation of the RFS and the
energy bill became effective in September 2007, and the ultimate effects of
these rules on the ethanol industry are uncertain. In addition, the favorable
ethanol provisions in the 2007 Act and 2005 Act may be adversely affected by the
enactment of additional legislation.
35
The
legislation did not include MTBE liability protection sought by refiners.
Management believes that this lack of protection led to the virtual elimination
of MTBE as a blending agent, and increased demand for ethanol. Refineries,
however, may use replacement additives other than ethanol, such as iso-octane,
iso-octene and alkylate. Accordingly, the actual demand for ethanol may increase
at a lower rate than previously estimated, resulting in excess production
capacity in our industry, which would negatively affect our
business.
Waivers of the RFS minimum levels of
renewable fuels included in gasoline could have a material adverse affect on our
results of operations. Under the Energy Policy Act, the U.S.
Department of Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and the
Secretary of Energy, may waive the renewable fuels mandate with respect to one
or more states if the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
determines that implementing the requirements would severely harm the economy or
the environment of a state, a region or the nation, or that there is inadequate
supply to meet the requirements. Any waiver of the RFS with respect to one or
more states would reduce demand for ethanol and could cause our results of
operations to decline and our financial condition to suffer.
Our results and liquidity may be
adversely affected by future hedging transactions and other
strategies.
Although
we are currently unable to do so due to limited financial resources, we may in
the future enter into contracts to sell a portion of our ethanol and distillers
grain production or to purchase a portion of our corn or natural gas
requirements on a forward basis to offset some of the effects of volatility of
ethanol prices and costs of commodities. From time to time, we may also
engage in other hedging transactions involving exchange-traded futures contracts
for corn and natural gas. The financial statement impact of these activities
will depend upon, among other things, the prices involved, changes in the
underlying market price and our ability to sell sufficient products to use all
of the corn and natural gas for which we have futures contracts or our ability
to sell excess corn or natural gas purchased in hedging transactions. Hedging
arrangements also expose us to the risk of financial loss in situations where
the other party to the hedging contract defaults on its contract or, in the case
of exchange-traded contracts, where there is a change in the expected
differential between the underlying price in the hedging agreement and the
actual prices paid or received by us.
Although
we will attempt to link our hedging activities to sales and production plans and
pricing activities, such hedging activities can themselves result in losses.
Hedging activities can result in losses when a position is purchased in a
declining market or a position is sold in a rising market. This risk can be
increased in highly volatile conditions such as those recently experienced in
corn and other commodities futures markets. A hedge position is often settled
when the physical commodity is either purchased (corn and natural gas) or sold
(ethanol or distillers grain). In the interim, we are and may continue to be
subject to the risk of margin calls and other demands on our financial resources
arising from hedging activities. We may experience hedging losses in the future.
We may also vary the amount of hedging or other price mitigation strategies we
undertake, and we may choose not to engage in hedging transactions at all. As a
result, our results of operations and financial condition may be adversely
affected by increases in the price of corn or natural gas or decreases in the
price of ethanol. In addition, our significant indebtedness and debt
service requirements increase the effect of changes in commodities prices on our
cash flow, and may limit our ability to sustain our operations in the
future.
36
During
the year ended December 31, 2008, the LLC recorded a
$39.9 million loss from hedging. All of the hedge contracts that caused
this loss were entered into with Cargill, which conducts all corn purchases and
sales of ethanol and distillers grain for the LLC and its subsidiaries. See
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations—Liquidity and capital resources—Cargill debt agreement” in our
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2010
incorporated by reference in this prospectus. On January 16, 2009, the
Company announced that it had finalized an agreement with Cargill resolving
matters related to these unpaid losses. Following a $3.0 million payment in
early December 2008, the remaining balance due to Cargill totaled
$14.4 million and interest began accruing at a 5% annual rate, with future
payments to Cargill being contingent on available cash flow, as defined in the
agreement. Although we intend to use a portion of the proceeds from this rights
offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement to make a payment to Cargill
and thereafter issue depositary shares to Cargill in settlement of all further
obligations under the Settlement Agreement, if we do not generate sufficient
proceeds to pay Cargill, the Settlement Agreement will remain in effect and will
limit the Company’s use of certain future cash flows that would otherwise have
been available for other purposes, including pursuit of business opportunities,
plant expansion or acquisitions.
The
Company has adopted a risk management policy which is intended to provide
additional, formal oversight over the hedging activities of the LLC and the
operating subsidiaries of the LLC. We cannot assure you, however, that
this policy will prevent or mitigate future hedging losses.
Increased acceptance of ethanol as a
fuel and construction of additional ethanol production plants could lead to
shortages of availability and increases in the price of corn.
The growth of the ethanol industry has
led to significantly greater demand for corn. Cargill, which supplies corn for
our plants, may have difficulty from time to time in sourcing corn on economical
terms, due to supply shortages or elevated market prices. Any supply shortage
could require us to suspend operations until corn becomes available on
economical terms. Suspension of operations would materially harm our business,
results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, the price we pay
for corn could increase if another ethanol production facility were built in the
same general vicinity, if we expand one of our production facilities or based on
market conditions. One of our competitors has constructed a large scale ethanol
production plant approximately six miles from our Fairmont site, near Welcome,
Minnesota. Two plants in such close proximity could lead to increases in the
price of corn or shortages of availability of corn in the area. In addition, the
price of corn increased significantly over historical levels in late 2006,
through 2007 and into the third quarter of 2008. This increase in corn prices
was attributed in part to the anticipated demand from new ethanol production
plants under construction or development. Although corn prices declined
rapidly in the later part of 2008 and fluctuated in a range closer to historical
levels during 2009, they have recently begun rising again in the third quarter
of 2010. We cannot assure you that the price of corn will not rise
significantly in the future, which could adversely affect our results of
operations.
37
Excess production capacity in our
industry may result in over-supply of ethanol which could adversely affect our
business.
According to the Renewable Fuels
Association (the “RFA”), a trade group, domestic ethanol production capacity has
increased from approximately 1.8 billion gallons per year (Bgpy) in 2001,
to an estimated 13.0 Bgpy at the end of 2009. The RFA estimates that, as of
January 1, 2010, approximately 1.4 Bgpy of additional production capacity,
an increase of approximately 11% over current production levels, is under
construction at 11 new and existing facilities. In July 2010, Archer
Daniels Midland Company, the second largest domestic ethanol producer, announced
the start-up of operations at a new plant representing expanded capacity of 300
million gallons per year (Mmgy). In addition, the Energy Information
Agency (EIA) of the U.S. Department of Energy recently estimated that, during
the month of July 2010, the most recent month for which statistics were
available, daily ethanol production in the U.S. was 857,000 barrels per day,
which would equate to an annualized output of approximately 13.1 Bgpy,
exceeding the all-time high output from the previous month. As a result of
this increase in production, the ethanol industry faces the risk of excess
capacity. In a manufacturing industry with excess capacity, producers have
an incentive to continue manufacturing products as long as the price of the
product exceeds the marginal cost of production (i.e., the cost of
producing only the next unit, without regard to interest, overhead or other
fixed costs).
Excess
ethanol production capacity also may result from decreases in the demand for
ethanol, which could result from a number of factors, including regulatory
developments and reduced gasoline consumption in the United States. Reduced
gasoline consumption could occur as a result of a decrease in general economic
conditions, as a result of increased prices for gasoline or crude oil, which
could cause businesses and consumers to reduce driving or acquire vehicles with
more favorable gasoline mileage, or as a result of technological advances, such
as the commercialization of hydrogen fuel-cells, which could supplant
gasoline-powered engines. There are a number of governmental initiatives
designed to reduce gasoline consumption, including tax credits for hybrid
vehicles and consumer education programs. According to preliminary data
published by the EIA, motor fuel consumption in the United States, which
includes ethanol blended with gasoline, declined to approximately 137.8 billion
gallons in 2009 from 138.2 billion gallons the prior year. Management
believes that this decline in overall motor fuel consumption was the result of
the severe economic recession recently experienced in the U.S., and has also
contributed to the declining price of ethanol.
If there
is excess capacity in our industry, and it continues to outstrip demand for a
significant period of time, the market price of ethanol could remain at a level
that is inadequate to generate sufficient cash flow to cover costs, which could
result in an impairment charge, could have an adverse effect on our results of
operations, cash flows and financial condition, and which could render us unable
to make debt service payments and cause us to cease operating
altogether.
Competition for qualified personnel in
the ethanol industry is intense, and we may not be able to retain qualified
personnel to operate our ethanol plants.
Our
success depends in part on our ability to attract and retain competent
personnel. For each of our plants, we must hire and retain qualified managers,
engineers and operations and other personnel, which can be challenging in a
rural community. Competition for both managers and plant employees in the
ethanol industry can be intense. Although we have hired the personnel necessary
to operate our plants, we may not be able to maintain or retain qualified
personnel. If we are unable to hire and maintain or retain productive and
competent personnel, our strategy may be adversely affected and we may not be
able to efficiently operate our ethanol plants as planned.
We are dependent upon our officers for
management and direction, and the loss of any of these persons could adversely
affect our operations and results.
We are
dependent upon the diligence and skill of our senior management team for
implementation of our proposed strategy and execution of our business plan, and
our future success depends to a significant extent on the continued service and
coordination of our senior management team. We do not maintain “key person” life
insurance for any of our officers or other employees. The loss of any of our
officers could delay or prevent the achievement of our business
objectives.
38
We are dependent on our commercial
relationship with Cargill and subject to various risks associated with this
relationship.
Our operating results may suffer if
Cargill does not perform its obligations under our contracts. We
have entered into an extensive commercial relationship with Cargill and will be
dependent on Cargill for the success of our business. This relationship includes
long-term marketing agreements with Cargill, under which Cargill has agreed to
market and distribute 100% of the ethanol and distillers grain produced at our
Wood River and Fairmont production plants. We have also entered into corn supply
agreements with Cargill, under which Cargill supplies 100% of the corn for our
Wood River and Fairmont plants. The success of our business depends on Cargill’s
ability to provide our production plants with the required corn supply in a
cost-effective manner and to market and distribute our products successfully. If
Cargill defaults on payments owed to us, fails to perform any of its
responsibilities or does not perform its responsibilities as effectively as we
expect them to under our agreements, our results of operations will be adversely
affected.
Cargill may terminate its
arrangements with us in the event that certain parties acquire 30% or more of
our common stock or the power to elect a majority of the Board.
Cargill has the right to terminate its arrangements with us for any or all of
our facilities if any of five identified parties or their affiliates acquires
30% or more of our common stock or the power to elect a majority of our board of
directors. Cargill has designated five parties, each of which is currently
engaged primarily in the agricultural commodities business, and it has the right
to annually update this list of identified parties, so long as the list does not
exceed five entities and the affiliates of such entities. The five parties
currently identified by Cargill are Archer Daniels Midland Company,
CHS Inc., Tate & Lyle PLC, The Scoular Company and Bunge
Limited. Cargill’s termination right may have the effect of deferring, delaying
or discouraging transactions with these parties and their affiliates that might
otherwise be beneficial to us. If Cargill were to terminate any of our goods and
services agreements, it would have a significant negative impact on our business
and we would be unable to continue our operations at each affected facility
until alternative arrangements were made. If we were required to make
alternative arrangements, we may not be able to make such arrangements or, if we
are able to make such arrangements, they may not be on terms as favorable as our
agreements with Cargill. We currently have no agreements or structure in place
that would prohibit any of the parties identified by Cargill from acquiring 30%
or more of our common stock and we do not expect to have any such agreements or
structures in the future. However, we have no expectation that any of these
parties would have an interest in acquiring shares of our common stock. We
monitor Schedule 13D filings so that we will be informed of any parties
accumulating ownership of our stock. If any identified party accumulates a
significant amount of stock, our board of directors will address the matter at
that time consistent with its fiduciary duties under applicable
law.
If we do not meet certain quality
and quantity standards under our marketing agreements with Cargill, our results
of operations may be adversely affected. If our ethanol or
distillers grain does not meet certain quality standards, Cargill may reject our
products or accept our products and decrease the purchase price to reflect the
inferior quality. In addition, if our distillers grain is subject to a recall
reasonably determined by Cargill to be necessary, we will be responsible for all
reasonable costs associated with the recall. If we fail to produce a sufficient
amount of ethanol or distillers grain and, as a result, Cargill is required to
purchase replacement products from third parties at a higher purchase price to
meet sale commitments, we must pay Cargill the price difference plus a
commission on the deficiency volume. Our failure to meet the quality and
quantity standards in our marketing agreements with Cargill could adversely
affect our results of operations.
39
We will be subject to certain risks
associated with Cargill’s ethanol marketing pool. Under the terms
of our ethanol marketing agreements, Cargill may place our ethanol in a common
marketing pool with ethanol produced by Cargill and certain other third party
producers. Each participant in the pool will receive the same price for its
share of ethanol sold, net of freight and other agreed costs incurred by Cargill
with respect to the pooled ethanol. Freight and other charges will be divided
among pool participants based solely upon each participant’s ethanol volume in
the pool. As a result, we may be responsible for higher freight and other costs
than we would be if we did not participate in the marketing pool, depending on
the freight and other costs attributable to the other marketing pool members. In
addition, we may become committed to sell ethanol at a fixed price in the future
under the marketing pool, exposing us to the risk of increased corn prices if we
are unable to hedge such sales. We have the right to opt out of the ethanol
marketing pool for any contract year by giving Cargill a six-month advance
notice. However, we may be required to participate in the pool for an additional
18 months if Cargill has contractually committed to sell ethanol based on
our continued participation in the pool.
We are subject to certain risks
associated with our corn supply agreements with Cargill. We have
agreed to purchase our required corn supply for our Wood River and Fairmont
plants exclusively from Cargill and pay Cargill a per bushel fee for all corn
Cargill sells to us. We cannot assure you that the prices we pay for corn under
our corn supply agreements with Cargill, together with the fee we have agreed to
pay to Cargill, will be lower than the prices we could pay or that our
competitors will be paying for corn from other sources.
Our interests may conflict with the
interests of Cargill. According to the RFA, as of February 2009,
Cargill has two of its own plants, which were producing approximately 120 Mmgy.
In addition, we understand that Cargill may market ethanol for other third
parties under the marketing pool arrangements described above. We cannot assure
you that Cargill will not favor its own interests or those of other parties over
our interests. Under our marketing agreements with Cargill, other than our right
to terminate to the extent such conflict results in material quantifiable
pecuniary loss, we have waived any claim of conflict of interest against Cargill
for failure to use commercially reasonable efforts to maximize our returns to
the extent such claims relate to an alleged conflict of interest or alleged
preference to third parties for which Cargill provides marketing services. If we
elected to terminate the marketing agreements in these circumstances, we would
need to enter into replacement marketing arrangements with another party, which
may not be possible at all or on terms as favorable as our current agreements
with Cargill. To the extent a conflict of interest does not result in material
quantifiable pecuniary loss, we would be without recourse against
Cargill.
New, more energy-efficient technologies
for producing ethanol could displace corn-based ethanol and materially harm our
results of operations and financial condition.
The
development and implementation of new technologies may impact our business
significantly. The current trend in ethanol production research is to develop an
efficient method of producing ethanol from cellulosic biomass such as
agricultural waste, forest residue, and municipal solid waste. This trend is
driven by the fact that cellulosic biomass is generally cheaper than corn and
producing ethanol from cellulosic biomass would create opportunities to produce
ethanol in areas that are unable to grow corn. Another trend in ethanol
production research is to produce ethanol through a chemical process rather than
a fermentation process, thereby significantly increasing the ethanol yield per
pound of feedstock. Although current technology does not allow these production
methods to be cost competitive, new technologies may develop that would allow
these or other methods to become viable means of ethanol production in the
future thereby displacing corn-based ethanol in whole or in part or intensifying
competition in the ethanol industry. Our plants are designed to produce
corn-based ethanol through a fermentation process. If we are unable to adopt or
incorporate these advances into our operations, our cost of producing ethanol
could be significantly higher than those of our competitors, and retrofitting
our plants may be very time-consuming and could require significant capital
expenditures. In addition, advances in the development of alternatives to
ethanol, such as alternative fuel additives, or technological advances in engine
and exhaust system design performance, such as the commercialization of hydrogen
fuel-cells or hybrid engines, or other factors could significantly reduce demand
for or eliminate the need for ethanol. We cannot predict when new technologies
may become available, the rate of acceptance of new technologies, the costs
associated with new technologies or whether these other factors may harm demand
for ethanol.
40
Our profit margins may be adversely
affected by fluctuations in the selling price and production cost of
gasoline.
Ethanol
is marketed as a fuel additive to reduce vehicle emissions from gasoline, as an
octane enhancer to improve the octane rating of the gasoline with which it is
blended and, to a lesser extent, as a gasoline substitute. As a result, ethanol
prices are influenced by the supply of and demand for gasoline. Our results of
operations may be materially harmed if the demand for, or the price of, gasoline
decreases. Conversely, a prolonged increase in the price of, or demand for,
gasoline could lead the U.S. government to relax import restrictions on foreign
ethanol that currently benefit us.
Our business is highly sensitive to
corn prices, and we generally cannot pass along increases in corn prices to our
customers.
Corn is
the principal raw material we use to produce ethanol and distillers grain. We
expect corn costs to represent approximately 77% of our total operating
expenses, assuming a corn price of $4.75 per bushel. Changes in the price of
corn therefore significantly affect our business. In general, rising corn prices
result in lower profit margins and may result in negative margins if not
accompanied by increases in ethanol prices. Under current market conditions,
because ethanol competes with fuels that are not corn-based, we generally are
unable to pass along increased corn costs to our customer. At certain levels,
corn prices would make ethanol uneconomical to use in fuel markets. Over
the period from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2010, spot corn prices, based on
the Chicago Board of Trade, or CBOT, have ranged from a low of $3.01 per bushel
in September 2009 to a high of $7.49 per bushel in July 2008, with prices
averaging $3.99 per bushel during this two year period. As of September 30,
2010, the CBOT spot price of corn was $4.96 per bushel. The price of corn
is influenced by a number of factors, including weather conditions and other
factors affecting crop yields, farmer planting decisions and general economic,
market and regulatory factors, government policies and subsidies with respect to
agriculture and international trade, and global and local supply and
demand. In addition, any event that tends to increase the demand for corn
could cause the price of corn to increase. We believe that the increasing
ethanol production capacity has contributed to, and will continue to contribute
to, a period of elevated corn prices compared to historical levels.
The market for natural gas is subject
to market conditions that create uncertainty in the price and availability of
the natural gas that we will use in our manufacturing process.
We rely
upon third parties for our supply of natural gas, which we use in the ethanol
production process. The prices for and availability of natural gas are subject
to volatile market conditions. The fluctuations in natural gas prices over the
period from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2010, based on the New York Mercantile
Exchange, or NYMEX, have ranged from a low of $2.51 per million of British
Thermal Units (Mmbtu) in September 2009 to a high of $13.58 per Mmbtu in July
2008, averaging $5.21 per Mmbtu during this two year period. As of September 30,
2010, the NYMEX spot price of natural gas was $3.87 per Mmbtu. These market
conditions are often affected by factors beyond our control, such as the price
of oil as a competitive fuel, higher prices resulting from colder than average
weather conditions or the impact of hurricanes and overall economic
conditions. Local variation in the cost or supply of natural gas at either
plant may also negatively impact our operations. Significant disruptions in the
supply of natural gas could impair our ability to manufacture ethanol for our
customers. Furthermore, increases in natural gas prices could adversely affect
our results of operations.
41
We may not be able to compete
effectively.
We
compete with a number of significant ethanol producers in the United States,
including Archer Daniels Midland Company, Valero Energy Corporation, Abengoa
Bioenergy Corporation, Poet, and Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. Some
of our competitors are divisions of larger enterprises and have substantially
greater financial resources than we do. According to the RFA, the three largest
producers (Archer Daniels Midland Company, Poet and Valero Energy Corporation)
together control 31% of the ethanol market as of the end of 2009.
In
November 2008, VeraSun Energy Corporation filed for protection from creditors
under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. VeraSun subsequently
announced that seven of its ethanol plants would be sold to Valero Energy, a
producer and retailer of gasoline, as a result of an auction process conducted
under the auspices of the bankruptcy court. Its remaining plants were sold in
the auction to various secured lenders, two of which were subsequently sold to
Valero. In October 2009, Murphy Oil acquired a 110 mgy ethanol plant
formerly owned by VeraSun, located in Hankinson, ND, and subsequently restarted
operations. In June 2009, Sunoco Oil, another producer and retailer of
gasoline, acquired a 100 mgy ethanol refinery in Volney, New York, and in
January 2010 announced it was restarting operations at that plant. In
addition, during 2008 and 2009, a variety of smaller ethanol producers likewise
filed for protection under Chapter 11 or comparable state law. While it is
too soon to estimate what effect, if any, these events may have on our business
or competitive prospects, the impact of these large oil refiners and retailers
vertically integrating into ethanol production, and the possibility that one or
more of our other competitors may as a result have improved capital structures,
or be without significant debt service obligations, could have the potential
effect of placing us at a competitive disadvantage.
In
addition to the larger sized competitors described above, there are many smaller
competitors that have been able to compete successfully in the ethanol industry
made up mostly of farmer-owned cooperatives and independent firms consisting of
groups of individual farmers and investors. As many of these smaller competitors
are farmer-owned, they receive greater government subsidies than we do and often
require their farmer-owners to commit to selling them a certain amount of corn
as a requirement of ownership. We expect competition to increase as the ethanol
industry becomes more widely known and demand for ethanol
increases.
We also
face increasing competition from international suppliers. International
suppliers produce ethanol primarily from sugar cane and have cost structures
that may be substantially lower than ours. Although there is a $0.54 per gallon
tariff on foreign-produced ethanol that is approximately equal to the federal
blenders’ credit, ethanol imports equivalent to up to 7% of total domestic
production in any given year from various countries were exempted from this
tariff under the Caribbean Basin Initiative in order to spur economic
development in Central America and the Caribbean. In addition, this tariff is
currently scheduled to expire on December 31, 2010, and there can be no
assurance that it will be renewed beyond that time. Any increase in domestic or
foreign competition could force us to reduce our prices and take other steps to
compete effectively, which may adversely affect our results of operations and
financial position.
Growth in the sale and distribution of
ethanol depends on changes to and expansion of related infrastructure which may
not occur on a timely basis, if at all.
It
currently is impracticable to transport by pipeline fuel blends that contain
ethanol. Substantial development of infrastructure will be required by persons
and entities outside our control for our business, and the ethanol industry
generally, to grow. Areas requiring expansion include, but are not limited
to:
42
|
·
|
additional
rail car capacity;
|
|
·
|
additional
storage facilities for ethanol;
|
|
·
|
increases
in truck fleets capable of transporting ethanol within localized
markets;
|
|
·
|
investment
in refining and blending infrastructure to handle
ethanol;
|
|
·
|
growth
in service stations equipped to handle ethanol fuels;
and
|
|
·
|
growth
in the fleet of flexible fuel vehicles capable of using E85
fuels.
|
The
substantial investments or government support required for these infrastructure
changes and expansions may not be made on a timely basis or at all. Any delay or
failure in making the changes to or expansion of infrastructure could weaken the
demand or prices for our products, impede our delivery of products, impose
additional costs on us or otherwise materially harm our results of operations or
financial position.
Transportation delays, including as a
result of disruptions to infrastructure, could adversely affect our
operations.
Our
business depends on the availability of rail and road distribution
infrastructure. Any disruptions in this infrastructure network, whether caused
by earthquakes, storms, other natural disasters or human error or malfeasance,
could materially impact our business. It currently is impracticable to transport
by pipeline fuel blends that contain ethanol, and we have limited ethanol
storage capacity at our facilities. Therefore, any unexpected delay in
transportation of our ethanol could result in significant disruption to our
operations, possibly requiring shutting down our plant operations. We will rely
upon others to maintain our rail lines from our production plants to national
rail networks, and any failure on their part to maintain the lines could impede
our delivery of products, impose additional costs on us or otherwise cause our
results of operations or financial condition to suffer.
Disruptions in the supply of oil or
natural gas could materially harm our business.
Significant
amounts of oil and natural gas are required for the growing, fertilizing and
harvesting of corn, as well as for the fermentation, distillation and
transportation of ethanol and the drying of distillers grain. A serious
disruption in the supply of oil or natural gas and any related period of
elevated prices could significantly increase our production costs and possibly
require shutting down our plant operations, which would materially harm our
business.
Our business may be influenced by
seasonal fluctuations.
Our
operating results may be influenced by seasonal fluctuations in the price of our
primary operating inputs, corn and natural gas, and the price of our primary
product, ethanol. Generally speaking, the spot price of corn tends to rise
during the spring planting season in May and June and tends to decrease during
the fall harvest in October and November. The price for natural gas, however,
tends to move inversely to that of corn and tends to be lower in the spring and
summer and higher in the fall and winter. In addition, ethanol prices have
historically been substantially correlated with the price of unleaded gasoline.
The price of unleaded gasoline tends to rise during the summer and winter. Due
to the blenders’ credit, ethanol historically has traded at a per gallon premium
to gasoline, although there have been times that ethanol has traded at a
discount to gasoline. This discount, or price inversion, is believed to be the
result of the rapid growth in the supply of ethanol compounded by the limited
infrastructure and blending capacity required for distribution. Given our
limited operating history, we do not know yet how these seasonal fluctuations
will affect our operating results over time.
43
The price of distillers grain is
affected by the price of other commodity products, such as soybeans, and
decreases in the price of these commodities could decrease the price of
distillers grain.
Distillers
grain is one of many animal feed products and competes with other protein-based
animal feed products. The price of distillers grain may decrease when the price
of competing feed products decreases. The prices of competing animal feed
products are based in part on the prices of the commodities from which they are
derived. Downward pressure on commodity prices, such as soybeans, will generally
cause the price of competing animal feed products to decline, resulting in
downward pressure on the price of distillers grain. Because the price of
distillers grain is not tied to production costs, decreases in the price of
distillers grain will result in us generating less revenue and lower profit
margins. In addition, the production of distillers grain is expected to rise
significantly in connection with the projected expansion of ethanol production
capacity in the United States over the next several years. As a result of this
likely significant increase in supply, the market price of distillers grain may
fall sharply from its current levels. If the market price of distillers grain
falls, our business and financial results may be harmed.
Our financial results may be adversely
affected by potential future acquisitions or sales of our plants, which could
divert the attention of key personnel, disrupt our business and dilute
stockholder value.
As part
of our business strategy, and as market and financing conditions permit, we
intend to (1) pursue acquisitions of other ethanol producers, building
sites, production facilities, storage or distribution facilities and selected
infrastructure and (2) seek opportunities to sell one or more plants or
plant sites on a basis more favorable than we would expect to realize by holding
them. Due to increased competition, however, we may not be able to secure
suitable acquisition opportunities. Further, we may not be able to find a buyer
or buyers for one or more of our plants or plant sites at prices that we
consider attractive. In addition, the completion of any acquisition may result
in unforeseen operating difficulties and may require significant financial and
managerial resources that would otherwise be available for the ongoing
development or expansion of our operations. In addition, if we finance
acquisitions by issuing equity securities or debt that is convertible into
equity securities, our existing stockholders may be diluted, which could affect
the market price of our common stock. The failure to successfully evaluate and
execute acquisitions or investments or otherwise adequately address these risks
could materially harm our business and financial results.
We have encountered unanticipated
difficulties in operating our plants, which may recur and cause us to incur
substantial losses.
We are
aware of certain plant design and construction defects that may impede the
reliable and continuous operation of our plants, and as a result, our plants
have not consistently operated at full capacity. We are in the process of
addressing these and a variety of other reliability issues at our plants.
However, our limited liquidity may prevent us from financing all of these
initiatives and, even if completed, we cannot assure you that our initiatives
will be successful or can be implemented in a timely fashion or without an
extended period of interruption to operations. As a result, the operation of our
plants has been more costly or inefficient than we anticipated, and this may
recur in the future. Although we received payments from our general
contractor for warranty claims under our engineering, procurement and
construction contracts for some of the unanticipated difficulties we have
encountered, these payments did not fully compensate us for the cost of
remedying such defects. In any event, we will not be able to recover lost
sales or lost profits that have resulted, or might result in the future, from
any defect in the design or construction of our plants. Any inability to operate
our plants at full capacity on a consistent basis could have a negative impact
on our cash flows and liquidity.
44
We may
also encounter other factors that could prevent us from conducting operations as
expected, resulting in decreased capacity or interruptions in production,
including shortages of workers or materials, design issues relating to
improvements, construction and equipment cost escalation, transportation
constraints, adverse weather, unforeseen difficulties or labor issues, or
changes in political administrations at the federal, state or local levels that
result in policy change towards ethanol in general or our plants in particular.
Furthermore, local water, electricity and gas utilities may not be able to
reliably supply the resources that our facilities will need or may not be able
to supply them on acceptable terms. Our operations may be subject to significant
interruption if any of our facilities experiences a major accident or is damaged
by severe weather or other natural disasters. In addition, our operations may be
subject to labor disruptions, unscheduled downtime or other operational hazards
inherent in our industry. Some of these operational hazards may cause personal
injury or loss of life, severe damage to or destruction of property and
equipment or environmental damage, and may result in suspension of operations
and the imposition of civil or criminal penalties. Our insurance may not be
adequate to cover the potential operational hazards described above and we may
not be able to renew our insurance on commercially reasonable terms or at all.
Any cessation of operations due to any of the above factors would cause our
sales to decrease significantly, which would have a material adverse effect on
our results of operation and financial condition.
We may be adversely affected by
environmental, health and safety laws, regulations and liabilities.
We are
subject to various federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations,
including those relating to the discharge of materials into the air, water and
ground, the generation, storage, handling, use, transportation and disposal of
hazardous materials, access to and impacts on water supply, and the health and
safety of our employees. Some of these laws and regulations require our
facilities to operate under permits that are subject to renewal or modification.
These laws, regulations and permits can require expensive emissions testing and
pollution control equipment or operational changes to limit actual or potential
impacts to the environment. A violation of these laws and regulations or permit
conditions can result in substantial fines, natural resource damages, criminal
sanctions, permit revocations and facility shutdowns. We may not
be in compliance with these laws, regulations or permits at all times
or we may not have all permits required to operate our business. We may be
subject to legal actions brought by environmental advocacy groups and other
parties for actual or alleged violations of environmental laws or permits. In
addition, we may be required to make significant capital expenditures on an
ongoing basis to comply with increasingly stringent environmental laws,
regulations and permits.
During
the start-up and initial operation of our two plants, we have occasionally
failed to meet all of the parameters of our air and water discharge
permits. We have addressed these issues primarily through adjustments to
our equipment and operations, including significant upgrades to our water
treatment system in Fairmont, Minnesota, and subsequent re-tests have indicated
that we are operating within our permitted limits. We have received
Notices of Violations with respect to both sites from environmental regulators
relating to these issues. In Nebraska, we have not been subject to any
enforcement action. In Minnesota, we have resolved all of our outstanding
enforcement issues through a Stipulated Agreement with the state, which resulted
in us paying a fine of $285,000 during 2010. We do not anticipate a material
adverse impact on our business or financial condition as a result of these prior
violations.
45
Our water
permits are issued under the federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES), as administered by the states. Our Minnesota NPDES permit
contains certain discharge variances from the water quality standards adopted by
the U.S. EPA, which variances expire on July 31, 2011. As part of the
Stipulated Agreement with the state of Minnesota, we expect that we will be
required to implement further upgrades to our water treatment system in Fairmont
and to implement additional alternative technologies to allow us to meet the
water quality standards. In the event these technologies prove to be
infeasible, we expect that we would be required to implement alternative
discharge solutions, such as a pipeline to a larger, more remote receiving
stream. Each of these undertakings would require significant expenditures
which we expect will represent a significant portion of our capital improvement
budgets in Fairmont in 2011 and 2012. However, we have no assurances at
this time that we will be able to meet the timelines for implementing the
proposed solutions or, if we are able to identify a solution, that the necessary
equipment, technology or construction will not be prohibitively expensive or
economically feasible. Failure to meet the water quality standards on or
after the July 31, 2011 expiration date, or as otherwise set forth in the
Stipulated Agreement, may result in additional enforcement actions, including
substantial fines, and may result in legal actions by private parties, any one
or combination of which could have a material adverse affect on our financial
condition.
We may be adversely affected by pending
climate change regulations.
Ethanol
production involves the emission of various airborne pollutants, including
particulate, carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, hazardous air pollutants and
volatile organic compounds. In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court classified carbon
dioxide as an air pollutant under the Clean Air Act in a case seeking to require
the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide in vehicle emissions. On February 3, 2010,
the EPA released its proposed final regulations on the Renewable Fuels Standard,
or RFS 2. We believe these final regulations grandfather our plants at their
current operating capacity, though expansion of our plants will need to meet a
threshold of a 20% reduction in “greenhouse gas,” or GHG, emissions from a 2005
baseline measurement to produce ethanol eligible for the RFS 2 mandate. In order
to expand capacity at our plants, we may be required to obtain additional
permits, install advanced technology such as corn oil extraction, or reduce
drying of certain amounts of distillers grains.
Separately,
the California Air Resources Board has adopted a Low Carbon Fuel Standard
requiring a 10% reduction in GHG emissions from transportation fuels by 2020. An
Indirect Land Use Change component is included in this lifecycle GHG emissions
calculation, though this standard is being challenged by numerous
lawsuits. This proposed standard could have the effect in the future
of rendering our ethanol unsaleable in the state of California and, if adopted
in other states, elsewhere.
46
Forward-Looking
Statements
This
prospectus and the information incorporated by reference herein include
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which we refer to as the “Securities Act,”
and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which
we refer to as the “Exchange Act.” All statements other than statements of
historical fact are “forward-looking statements,” including any projections of
earnings, revenue or other financial items, any statements concerning future
commodity prices and their effect on the Company, any statements of the plans,
strategies and objectives of management for future operations, any statements
concerning proposed new projects or other developments, any statements regarding
future economic conditions or performance, any statements of management’s
beliefs, goals, strategies, intentions and objectives, and any statements of
assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Words such as “may,” “will,”
“should,” “could,” “would,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” “expects,”
“anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” and similar
expressions, as well as statements in the future tense, identify forward-looking
statements.
These
statements are necessarily subjective and involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other important factors that could cause our actual results,
performance or achievements, or industry results, to differ materially from any
future results, performance or achievements described in or implied by such
statements. Actual results may differ materially from expected results
described in our forward-looking statements, including with respect to correct
measurement and identification of factors affecting our business or the extent
of their likely impact, the accuracy and completeness of the publicly available
information with respect to the factors upon which our business strategy is
based or the success of our business. Furthermore, industry forecasts are
likely to be inaccurate, especially over long periods of time and in relatively
new and rapidly developing industries such as ethanol.
Forward-looking
statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results,
and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether, or the times by
which, our performance or results may be achieved. Forward-looking statements
are based on information available at the time those statements are made and
management’s belief as of that time with respect to future events, and are
subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or
results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the
forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause such
differences include, but are not limited to, those factors discussed under the
headings “Risk Factors” included in this prospectus and under “Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”
included our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and
in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30,
2010, and elsewhere in this prospectus and in the documents incorporated by
reference herein.
Should
one or more of the risks or uncertainties described above or elsewhere in this
prospectus or in the information incorporated by reference herein occur, or
should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results and plans
could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements.
Except as required by law, we disclaim all responsibility to publicly update any
information contained in a forward-looking statement or any forward-looking
statement and therefore disclaim any resulting liability for potentially related
damages. To the extent that any facts or events arising after the
date of this prospectus, individually or in the aggregate, represent a
fundamental change in the information presented in this prospectus, this
prospectus will be updated to the extent required by law to contain all material
information.
All
forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their
entirety by this cautionary statement.
47
Use
of Proceeds
Assuming
that neither the size of this rights offering nor the size of the Basic
Commitment or Backstop Commitment is reduced by the Backstop Parties, we
estimate that the net proceeds from the sale of the depositary shares offered in
this rights offering and from the preferred membership interests offered in the
LLC’s concurrent private placement, after deducting estimated offering expenses,
will be approximately
$
million. We intend to, or will cause the LLC to, use the proceeds
from the sale of securities in this offering, the LLC’s concurrent private
placement and the Backstop Commitment to, promptly upon
consummation: (i) first, pay off the Bridge Loan, which we estimate
would use $ of the proceeds; (ii) second, pay off
all indebtedness under the Loan Agreement, dated as of September 25, 2006, by
and among the LLC and certain of the Backstop Parties and their affiliates
(which we refer to as the “Subordinated Debt Agreement”), which we estimate
would use $ of the proceeds; (iii) third, make the
Cargill Cash Payment, which would use $2,800,829 of the proceeds; (iv) fourth,
to pay certain fees and expenses incurred in connection with this rights
offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement, which we estimate would use
$ of the proceeds; and (v) fifth, use the
remainder, if any, for general corporate purposes.
In the
event that the Backstop Parties reduce the number of depositary shares that they
would otherwise be obligated to purchase pursuant to the Basic Commitment or
Backstop Commitment (see “The Rights Offering—Rights Offering Letter
Agreement—Reduction by the Backstop Parties”) and, as a result, we do have
sufficient proceeds from this rights offering and the concurrent private
placement to pay off the Bridge Loan but do not have sufficient proceeds to both
pay off all indebtedness under the Subordinated Debt Agreement and make the
Cargill Cash Payment, then the Backstop Parties will have the option to cause us
to use the proceeds remaining after the pay off of the Bridge Loan to make the
Cargill Cash Payment before paying off any indebtedness under the Subordinated
Debt Agreement.
Currently,
we have approximately $19.4 million of outstanding indebtedness under our Bridge
Loan, at an annual interest rate of 12.5%. The maturity date of the Bridge Loan
is March 24, 2011. The proceeds of the Bridge Loan were used to repay in full
all outstanding working capital loans under our Senior Debt Facility and to pay
certain related fees and expenses. As of September 30, 2010, the LLC had
$21.1 million outstanding under the Subordinated Debt Agreement, at a 5.0%
annual interest rate compounded quarterly. The maturity date of this
debt is March 2015. From September 25, 2006, the date the LLC and the
subordinated debt lenders entered into the Subordinated Debt Agreement, through
December 1, 2008, interest on the subordinated debt was payable at a 15.0%
annual interest rate. In January 2009, the LLC and the subordinated
debt lenders entered into a waiver and amendment agreement to the Subordinated
Debt Agreement. Under the waiver and amendment agreement, effective
December 1, 2008, interest on the subordinated debt began accruing at a 5.0%
annual rate, a rate that will apply until the amounts owed to Cargill under the
Settlement Agreement have been paid in full, at which time the rate will revert
to a 15.0% annual rate. As a result of our intended use of proceeds
of this rights offering, the LLC’s concurrent private placement and the Backstop
Commitment and the terms of the Cargill Letter (and assuming that neither the
size of this rights offering nor the size of the Basic Commitment or Backstop
Commitment is reduced by the Backstop Parties), we expect to pay off all of the
indebtedness under the Subordinated Debt Agreement before or concurrently with
the payment in cash or satisfaction by issuance of depositary shares of all
amounts owed under the Settlement Agreement.
48
Market
Price and Dividends on Common Stock
Market
Information
We
completed an initial public offering of shares of our common stock in June
2007. Our common stock trades on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol
“BIOF.” The following table sets forth the high and low closing
prices for the common stock as reported on The Nasdaq Global Market for the
quarterly periods indicated. These prices do not include retail markups,
markdowns or commissions.
Year ended, December 31, 2008
|
High
|
Low
|
||||||
First
Quarter
|
$
|
7.31
|
$
|
3.82
|
||||
Second
Quarter
|
$
|
4.96
|
$
|
2.55
|
||||
Third
Quarter
|
$
|
2.67
|
$
|
0.54
|
||||
Fourth
Quarter
|
$
|
0.73
|
$
|
0.31
|
Year ended December 31, 2009
|
High
|
Low
|
||||||
First
Quarter
|
$
|
0.47
|
$
|
0.26
|
||||
Second
Quarter
|
$
|
1.45
|
$
|
0.25
|
||||
Third
Quarter
|
$
|
0.77
|
$
|
0.57
|
||||
Fourth
Quarter
|
$
|
3.77
|
$
|
0.84
|
Year ending December 31, 2010
|
High
|
Low
|
||||||
First
Quarter
|
$
|
4.13
|
$
|
2.75
|
||||
Second
Quarter
|
$
|
3.14
|
$
|
1.33
|
||||
Third
Quarter
|
$
|
2.22
|
$
|
1.10
|
On
December 13, 2010, the closing price of our common stock was $1.63. On
December 13, 2010, there were approximately 34 shareholders of record of
our common stock and 12 shareholders of record of our class B common stock.
We believe the number of beneficial owners is substantially greater than the
number of record holders because a large portion of our outstanding common stock
is held of record in broker “street names” for the benefit of individual
investors. As of December 13, 2010, there were 25,465,728 common shares
outstanding, net of 809,606 shares held in treasury, and 7,111,985 class B
common shares outstanding.
Dividend
Policy
We have
not paid any dividends since our inception and do not anticipate declaring or
paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. We
currently anticipate that we will retain all of our available cash, if any, for
use as working capital and for other general corporate purposes, including to
service our debt and to fund the operation of our business. Payment of future
dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will
depend on many factors, including general economic and business conditions, our
strategic plans, our financial results and condition, legal requirements and
other factors as our board of directors deems relevant. In addition, our Senior
Debt Facility imposes restrictions on the ability of the subsidiaries that own
our Wood River and Fairmont plants to pay dividends or make other distributions
to us, which will restrict our ability to pay dividends.
49
BioFuel
Energy Corp. is a holding company and has no material assets other than its
ownership of membership units in the LLC. We intend to cause the LLC
to make distributions to BioFuel Energy Corp. in an amount sufficient to cover
dividends, if any, declared by us. If the LLC makes such distributions, the
holders of membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.)
will be entitled to receive equivalent distributions from the LLC on their
membership units. To ensure that our public stockholders are treated fairly with
the holders of membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy
Corp.), our certificate of incorporation requires that all distributions
received from the LLC, other than distributions to cover tax obligations
and other corporate expenses, will be dividended to holders of our common
stock.
Equity
Compensation Plans
The
information required by this item concerning equity compensation plans is
incorporated by reference to “Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain
Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters” of our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009.
50
Capitalization
The
following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and our capitalization
as of September 30, 2010 (i) on an actual basis, (ii) on an as adjusted basis to
give effect to this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement
and the application of the net proceeds therefrom (including the payoff of the
Bridge Loan and the Subordinated Debt Agreement and the making of the Cargill
Cash Payment and Cargill Stock Payment (assuming a per share value of our common
stock used to determine the number of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock shares representing depositary shares to be issued in satisfaction of the
Cargill Stock Payment equal to $ , which was the closing
sales price of our common stock on The Nasdaq Global Market
on )),
after deducting the estimated fees and offering expenses, but before the
automatic conversion of shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock into shares of common stock and (iii) on an as adjusted basis to give
effect to this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement and
the application of the net proceeds therefrom (including the payoff of the
Bridge Loan and the Subordinated Debt Agreement and the making of the Cargill
Cash Payment and Cargill Stock Payment (assuming a per share value of our common
stock used to determine the number of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock shares representing depositary shares to be issued in satisfaction of the
Cargill Stock Payment equal to $ , which was the closing sales
price of our common stock on The Nasdaq Global Market
on
)), after deducting the estimated fees and offering expenses, and gives effect
to the automatic conversion of shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock into shares of common stock that will occur following the
requisite stockholder approval. Please see “Use of
Proceeds.” The following table also assumes that the size of this
rights offering is not reduced by the Backstop Parties.
You
should read this table together with the information under the heading
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations” and our unaudited interim consolidated financial statements and
related notes and other financial information incorporated by reference herein
from our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30,
2010.
As
of September 30, 2010
|
||||||||||||
Actual
|
As adjusted to
give effect to
this rights
offering and
the LLC’s
concurrent
private
placement
|
As further
adjusted to
give effect to
the automatic
conversion of
Series A
Non-Voting
Convertible
Preferred
Stock into
shares of
common stock
|
||||||||||
(unaudited)
(dollars in
thousands)
|
||||||||||||
Cash
and equivalents
|
$ | 10,895 | $ | $ | ||||||||
Total
debt
|
256,877 | |||||||||||
Stockholders’
equity:
|
||||||||||||
Preferred
stock ((i) 5.0 million shares authorized and no shares issued or
outstanding, actual; (ii) 5.0 million shares authorized and 2.0 million
shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock, $0.01 par value
per share, issued and outstanding, as adjusted before automatic
conversion; and (iii) 5.0 million shares authorized and no shares issued
or outstanding, as further adjusted after automatic conversion)
|
— | |||||||||||
Common
stock, (i) $0.01 par value per share (100.0 million shares authorized and
26,275,334 shares issued and outstanding, actual; (ii) 100.0 million
shares authorized and 26,275,334 million shares issued and outstanding, as
adjusted before automatic conversion; and (iii) 140.0
million shares authorized and 89,676,118 shares issued and
outstanding, as further adjusted after automatic conversion)
|
262 | |||||||||||
Class
B common stock, $0.01 par value per share ((i) 50.0 million shares
authorized and 7,111,985 shares issued and outstanding, actual; (ii) 50.0
million shares authorized and 7,111,985 million shares issued and
outstanding, as adjusted before automatic conversion; and (iii) 75.0
million shares authorized and 25,044,453 shares issued and
outstanding, as further adjusted after automatic conversion)
|
71 | |||||||||||
Less
common stock held in treasury, at cost, 809,606 shares at September 30,
2010
|
(4,316 | ) | ||||||||||
Additional
paid-in capital
|
138,322 | |||||||||||
Accumulated
deficit
|
(79,513 | ) | ||||||||||
Total
BioFuel Energy Corp. stockholders’ equity
|
54,826 | |||||||||||
Noncontrolling
interest
|
268 | |||||||||||
Total
equity
|
55,094 | |||||||||||
Total
capitalization
|
$ | 322,866 | $ | $ |
51
Selected
Financial Data
The
selected financial data of BioFuel Energy Corp. (i) as of December 31, 2009
and 2008 and for the years then ended has been derived from the audited
consolidated financial statements of BioFuel Energy Corp. incorporated by
reference into this prospectus and (ii) as of September 30, 2010 and for the
nine months ended September 30, 2009 and 2010 has been derived from the
unaudited consolidated financial statements of BioFuel Energy Corp. incorporated
by reference into this prospectus.
You
should read the selected historical financial data in conjunction with the
information included under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the consolidated financial
statements and accompanying notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 31, 2009 and in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for
the three months ended March 31, 2010, June 30, 2010 and September 30, 2010,
incorporated by reference into this prospectus.
Year Ended
December 31,
2008
|
Year Ended
December 31,
2009
|
Nine Months
Ended
September 30,
2009
|
Nine Months
Ended
September 30,
2010
|
|||||||||||||
(unaudited)
|
(unaudited)
|
|||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
|
||||||||||||||||
Statement
of Operations Data
|
||||||||||||||||
Net
sales
|
$ | 179,867 | $ | 415,514 | $ | 295,096 | $ | 312,031 | ||||||||
Cost
of goods sold
|
199,163 | 404,750 | 298,911 | 318,336 | ||||||||||||
Gross
profit (loss)
|
(19,296 | ) | 10,764 | (3,815 | ) | (6,305 | ) | |||||||||
General
and administrative expenses:
|
||||||||||||||||
Compensation
expense
|
8,063 | 6,160 | 4,551 | 5,152 | ||||||||||||
Other
expense
|
8,981 | 9,327 | 8,210 | 4,642 | ||||||||||||
Other
operating expense
|
1,350 | 150 | — | — | ||||||||||||
Operating
loss
|
(37,690 | ) | (4,873 | ) | (16,576 | ) | (16,099 | ) | ||||||||
Other
income (expense):
|
||||||||||||||||
Interest
income
|
1,087 | 78 | 74 | — | ||||||||||||
Interest
expense
|
(5,831 | ) | (14,906 | ) | (12,036 | ) | (8,061 | ) | ||||||||
Other
non-operating expense
|
(1,781 | ) | (1 | ) | (1 | ) | — | |||||||||
Loss
on derivative financial instruments
|
(39,912 | ) | — | — | — | |||||||||||
Loss
before income taxes
|
(84,127 | ) | (19,702 | ) | (28,539 | ) | (24,160 | ) | ||||||||
Less:
Net loss attributable to the noncontrolling interest
|
43,262 | 6,072 | 8,061 | 5,224 | ||||||||||||
Net
loss attributable to BioFuel Energy Corp. common shareholders
|
$ | (40,865 | ) | $ | (13,630 | ) | $ | (20,478 | ) | $ | (18,936 | ) | ||||
Loss
per share—basic and diluted attributable to BioFuel Energy Corp. common
shareholders
|
$ | (2.65 | ) | $ | (0.57 | ) | $ | (0.87 | ) | $ | (0.75 | ) | ||||
Basic
and diluted weighted average number of common shares
|
15,419 | 23,792 | 23,418 | 25,411 |
52
As of
December 31,
2008
|
As of
December 31,
2009
|
As of
September 30,
2010
|
||||||||||
(Unaudited)
|
||||||||||||
(in
thousands)
|
||||||||||||
Balance
Sheet Data
|
||||||||||||
Cash
and equivalents
|
$ | 12,299 | $ | 6,109 | $ | 10,895 | ||||||
Total
current assets
|
46,865 | 53,593 | 55,428 | |||||||||
Property,
plant and equipment, net
|
305,350 | 284,362 | 266,364 | |||||||||
Total
assets
|
365,724 | 346,775 | 329,703 | |||||||||
Total
current liabilities
|
38,157 | 40,830 | 46,428 | |||||||||
Long-term
debt, net of current portion
|
226,351 | 220,754 | 218,377 | |||||||||
Total
liabilities
|
270,965 | 268,880 | 274,609 | |||||||||
Noncontrolling
interest
|
14,069 | 5,660 | 268 | |||||||||
BioFuel
Energy Corp. stockholders’ equity
|
80,690 | 72,235 | 54,826 | |||||||||
Total
liabilities and equity
|
365,724 | 346,775 | 329,703 |
53
The
Rights Offering
The
Subscription Rights
We are
distributing at no charge to the record holders of our common stock as of 5:00
p.m., New York City time, on December 27, 2010, the record date,
non-transferable subscription rights to purchase depositary shares representing
shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock. Each
subscription right will permit the holder of such right to acquire, at a rights
price equal to $0.56 per depositary share, one depositary share under the basic
subscription privilege and will also provide the holder of such right with an
over-subscription privilege.
The
subscription rights will be distributed pro rata to the holders of our common
stock based on the number of shares of common stock held on the record
date. The number of subscription rights distributed to the holders of
our common stock will be determined as described under “—Number of Rights;
Number of LLC Purchase Privileges.” Fractional subscription rights
resulting from such pro rata distribution will be eliminated by rounding up to
the nearest whole right. If you are a beneficial owner of shares of our common
stock that are registered in the name of a broker, dealer, custodian bank or
other nominee, then we expect that DTC will distribute subscription rights to
your nominee on your behalf.
As
described below under “—Rights Offering Letter Agreement—Basic Commitment and
Backstop Commitment,” a portion of the rights offering to certain of our
existing stockholders is being conducted on a private, non-registered
basis. We refer to that private rights offering, together with this
public rights offering, collectively as the rights offering.
Number
of Rights; Number of LLC Purchase Privileges
The
number of subscription rights distributed to our record holders will be
determined by dividing the Offering Size (as defined below) by
$0.56. We expect to distribute a total of 64,210,390 subscription
rights. As a result, approximately 2.5214 subscription rights will be
distributed per share of common stock.
The
number of LLC purchase privileges granted in the LLC’s concurrent private
placement will be determined by dividing the Private Placement Size (as defined
below) by $0.56.
Rights
Price
The
rights price for this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement
means $0.56, which was calculated pursuant to the Rights Offering Letter
Agreement as the dollar amount equal to 25% of the average per share closing
price of our common stock for the five trading days immediately following the
date of the initial filing of the registration statement of which this
prospectus is a part.
The
rights price of $0.56 represents a significant discount to the market price of
our common stock at the time of determination, but the rights price is not
necessarily related to our book value, net worth or any other established
criteria of value. This rights price represented an approximately 66% discount
to the closing price of our common stock on December 13, 2010. You should not
consider the rights price to be an indication of the fair value of the
depositary shares offered in this rights offering or our common stock. We cannot
assure you that the market price of our common stock will not decline during or
after this rights offering. We also cannot assure you that you will be able to
sell the depositary shares, or the common stock that you will receive upon the
automatic conversion of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
represented by such depositary shares, purchased during this rights offering at
a price that is equal to or greater than $0.56.
54
Aggregate
Size; Offering Size; Private Placement Size
The
“Aggregate Size” of this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private
placement will be an aggregate amount sufficient to (i) repay all amounts owed
at the time of consummation of this rights offering, including accrued and
unpaid interest, under the Bridge Loan Agreement and the Subordinated Debt
Agreement, (ii) make the Cargill Cash Payment and (iii) pay certain fees and
expenses incurred in connection with this rights offering and the LLC’s
concurrent private placement, but is subject to reduction as described under
“—Rights Offering Letter Agreement—Reduction by Backstop
Parties.” The Aggregate Size (subject to any such reduction) will be
$46,000,000.
The
“Offering Size” of this rights offering will be an amount equal to the Aggregate
Size multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the total number of
shares of common stock outstanding as of the record date and the denominator of
which is the total number of shares of common stock outstanding as of the record
date plus the total number of membership interests in the LLC held by the
holders of membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) as
of the record date.
The
“Private Placement Size” of the LLC’s concurrent private placement will be an
amount equal to the Aggregate Size multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of
which is the total number of membership interests in the LLC held by the holders
of membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) as of the
record date and the denominator of which is the total number of shares of common
stock outstanding as of the record date plus the total number of membership
interests in the LLC held by the holders of membership interests in the LLC
(other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) as of the record date.
The
Aggregate Size will equal the Offering Size plus the Private Placement
Size. Assuming that from December 13, 2010 until the record date
there are no changes in the total number of shares of common stock outstanding
or the total number of membership interests in the LLC held by the holders of
membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.), we expect the
Offering Size to be $35,957,818 ($17,955,968 of which we expect will represent
depositary shares purchased by the Backstop Parties directly from us on a
private, non-registered basis pursuant to their basic subscription privileges)
and the Private Placement Size to be $10,042,182.
Concurrent
Private Placement
General. Concurrent
with this rights offering, the LLC will grant at no charge purchase privileges
to the record holders (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) of membership interests
in the LLC as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on December 27, 2010, the record
date, to purchase a new class of preferred membership interests in the LLC
(which we refer to as the “LLC’s concurrent private placement”). Each
LLC purchase privilege will permit the holder of such privilege to acquire, at a
rights price equal to $0.56 per preferred membership interest, one preferred
membership interest in the LLC under the LLC basic purchase privilege and will
also provide the holder of such LLC basic purchase privilege with an LLC
additional purchase privilege. The LLC additional purchase privilege
will entitle the holder of the LLC purchase privilege to purchase an additional
amount of preferred membership interests equal to up to 100% of the preferred
membership interests that the holder was otherwise entitled to
purchase. We expect that the record date, term and expiration date of
the LLC’s concurrent private placement will be the same as those of this rights
offering.
Grant
of
LLC Purchase
Privileges. All
members of the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) will be entitled to receive
the LLC purchase privileges. The LLC purchase
privileges will be granted
pro rata to the holders of membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel
Energy Corp.) based on the number of membership interests held by them on the
record date. The number of LLC purchase privileges granted to the holders of
membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) in the LLC’s
concurrent private placement will be determined as described under “—Number of
Rights; Number of LLC Purchase Privileges.” Fractional LLC
purchase privileges
resulting from such pro rata distribution will be eliminated by rounding up to
the nearest whole purchase privilege.
55
Issuance of
Preferred Membership Interests.
Immediately prior to the consummation of this rights offering and the LLC’s
concurrent private placement, the LLC will amend and restate its limited
liability company agreement to add the preferred membership interests as a new
class of LLC membership interest. Immediately following the
consummation of the LLC’s concurrent private placement, the holders of
membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) will be
entitled to receive preferred membership interests in amounts to be determined
in accordance with their exercise of LLC basic purchase privileges and LLC
additional purchase privileges (and, in the case of the Backstop Parties,
determined in accordance with their exercise of the Backstop Commitment for
preferred membership interests). Immediately following the
consummation of this rights offering, BioFuel Energy Corp. will contribute all
proceeds of this rights offering to the LLC, and the LLC will issue to BioFuel
Energy Corp. a number of preferred membership interests equal to the number of
depositary shares that BioFuel Energy Corp. issued in this rights
offering. The LLC will then apply the proceeds of this rights
offering, the LLC’s concurrent private placement and the Backstop Commitment as
described under “Use of Proceeds.” Concurrent with the making of the
Cargill Stock Payment, the LLC will issue to BioFuel Energy Corp. a number of
preferred membership interests equal to the number of depositary shares issued
to Cargill in the Cargill Stock Payment.
Terms of
Preferred Membership Interests. The
preferred membership interests will (i) be automatically convertible as
described immediately below, (ii) be entitled to pro rata distributions from the
LLC, on an equivalent one-to-one basis with the membership interests, (iii) have
a liquidation preference in the LLC equal to $0.56 per preferred membership
interest and (iv) have only limited voting rights in the LLC. For a
full description of the preferred membership interests, see “Description of
Capital Stock— LLC Preferred Membership Interests; Amended and Restated Limited
Liability Company Agreement.”
Conversion of
Preferred Membership Interests. Following
the requisite stockholder approval, all preferred membership interests will
automatically convert into membership interests on a one-for-one basis and the
holders of the preferred membership interests (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.)
will also receive one share of class B common stock for each membership interest
received upon conversion.
Purpose
of LLC’s Concurrent Private Placement. The LLC’s concurrent private
placement has been structured so as to provide the holders of membership
interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.), who hold membership
interests that are exchangeable on a one-for-one basis for shares of common
stock, with a private placement that is economically equivalent to this rights
offering.
Conversion
of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
As
described under “Description of Capital Stock—Description of the Depositary
Shares,” each depositary share will represent a fractional interest in a share
of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock equal to the fraction
determined by dividing 2,000,000 by the total number of depositary shares
actually purchased in this rights offering and pursuant to the Backstop
Commitment. Subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, each depositary
share will be entitled to all rights and preferences of the Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock in proportion to the fraction of a share of the
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock such depositary share
represents.
56
As
described under “Description of Capital Stock—Description of the Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock,” each share of Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock shall, following the requisite stockholder approval,
automatically convert into a number of shares of common stock equal to the
quotient obtained by dividing the total number of depositary shares actually
purchased in this rights offering and pursuant to the Backstop Commitment by
2,000,000 (which we refer to as the “Conversion Rate”). The requisite
stockholder approval means that approval by the holders of our common stock and
class B common stock of the authorization and issuance of all additional shares
of common stock issuable (i) upon conversion of all shares of Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock at the Conversion Rate and (ii) upon the
exchange on a one-for-one basis of all membership interests in the LLC that
would be received by the holders of membership interests in the LLC (other than
BioFuel Energy Corp.) following the conversion of all preferred membership
interests they receive in the LLC’s concurrent private placement for membership
interests. To the extent necessary, the requisite stockholder approval
would also include the authorization of all additional shares of class B common
stock issuable upon the conversion of all preferred membership interests
received by the holders of membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel
Energy Corp.) in the LLC’s concurrent private placement.
As
described under “Description of Capital Stock—Description of the Depositary
Shares,” upon conversion of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock,
each depositary share shall entitle the holder thereof to receive one share of
common stock and, upon the distribution of one share of common stock to the
holder of each such depositary share, each such depositary share shall be
automatically cancelled and have no further value. The depositary will
distribute the shares of common stock it receives upon conversion of the Series
A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock to the holders of the depositary shares
entitled to receive such distribution in proportion to the number of outstanding
depositary shares held by each such holder, on the date of receipt or as soon as
practicable thereafter.
Because
the holders of depositary shares will not be entitled to receive shares of
common stock until the conversion of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock for common stock, they will hold depositary shares and will have
no direct rights with respect to our common stock until we receive the requisite
stockholder approval. Holders of the depositary shares must act
through the depositary to exercise any voting rights in respect of the Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock and must receive any dividends or
distributions in respect of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
only through the depositary. As a result, holders of the depositary
shares will not have the right to vote on actions customarily subject to
stockholder vote or approval, including the election of directors, the approval
of significant transactions and amendments to our certificate of incorporation
that would not adversely affect the rights, preferences or privileges of the
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock. In addition, the
trading market for the depositary shares may be less liquid than the trading
market for our common stock and the market price of the depositary shares may be
adversely affected as a result. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to
the Depositary Shares” for more information.
Basic
Subscription Privilege
With
your basic subscription privilege, you may purchase one depositary share per
subscription right at a rights price per depositary share equal to $0.56, upon
delivery of the required documents and payment of $0.56 prior to the expiration
of this rights offering. You may exercise all or a portion of your
basic subscription privilege; however, if you exercise less than your full basic
subscription privilege, you will not be entitled to purchase shares pursuant to
your over-subscription privilege. Under the Rights Offering Letter
Agreement, the Backstop Parties have agreed, subject to the terms and conditions
described under “—Rights Offering Letter Agreement—Basic Commitment and Backstop
Commitment,” to exercise their basic subscription privileges in full (subject to
reduction in certain circumstances as described in therein). Any
depositary shares purchased by the Backstop Parties pursuant to their basic
subscription privileges will be purchased directly from us on a private basis
and are not being registered pursuant to the registration statement of which
this prospectus is a part.
We will
deliver certificates representing depositary shares or (if you are a beneficial
owner of shares of our common stock that are registered in the name of a broker,
dealer, custodian bank or other nominee) credit your account at your record
holder with depositary shares purchased with the basic subscription privilege as
soon as practicable after the expiration of this rights offering.
Over-Subscription
Privilege
If you
fully exercise your basic subscription privilege, you will be entitled to
subscribe for additional depositary shares that remain unsubscribed as a result
of any unexercised basic subscription privileges pursuant to your
over-subscription privilege. The over-subscription privilege allows a
holder to subscribe for an additional amount of depositary shares equal to up to
100% of the depositary shares for which such holder was otherwise entitled to
subscribe. The Backstop Parties may purchase depositary shares
pursuant to their over-subscription privileges. Any depositary shares
purchased by the Backstop Parties pursuant to their over-subscription privileges
will be purchased directly from us on a private basis and are not being
registered pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a
part.
57
If there
is a sufficient number of depositary shares available to fully satisfy the
over-subscription privilege requests of all holders following the exercise of
subscription rights under their basic subscription privileges, all
over-subscription requests will be honored in full. If insufficient
depositary shares are available to fully satisfy the over-subscription privilege
requests of all holders, the available unsubscribed depositary shares will be
distributed proportionately among those holders who exercised their
over-subscription privilege based on the number of depositary shares each holder
subscribed for pursuant to their over-subscription privilege. Fractional
depositary shares resulting from the proportionate distribution of unsubscribed
depositary shares pursuant to the over-subscription privilege will be eliminated
by rounding down to the nearest whole share.
If and to
the extent that the Backstop Parties determine, after consultation with
us, that the exercise of over-subscription privileges would result in
adverse tax, legal or regulatory consequences to us or any of the Backstop
Parties, we may
reduce or eliminate, pro rata for all holders of subscription rights, the
exercise of over-subscription privileges. In the event that the exercise of
over-subscription privileges is so reduced, the available unsubscribed
depositary shares will be distributed proportionately among those holders who
exercised their over-subscription privilege based on the number of depositary
shares each holder subscribed for pursuant to their over-subscription privilege.
Any excess
payments received by the subscription agent will be returned, without interest,
as soon as practicable.
In order
to properly exercise your over-subscription privilege, you must deliver the
subscription payment related to your over-subscription privilege prior to the
expiration of this rights offering. Because we will not know the
total number of unsubscribed depositary shares prior to the expiration of this
rights offering, if you wish to maximize the number of depositary shares you
purchase pursuant to your over-subscription privilege, you will need to deliver
payment in an amount equal to the aggregate rights price for the maximum number
of depositary shares available to you, assuming that no holders other than you
and the Backstop Parties (who have agreed, subject to certain exceptions, to
exercise their basic subscription privileges in full) have purchased any
depositary shares pursuant to their basic subscription privileges or
over-subscription privileges.
We can
provide no assurance that you will actually be entitled to purchase the number
of depositary shares you subscribe for pursuant to your over-subscription
privilege at the expiration of this rights offering. We will not be able
to satisfy your exercise of the over-subscription privilege if all holders
exercise their basic subscription privileges in full, and we will only honor an
over-subscription privilege to the extent sufficient depositary shares are
available following the exercise of subscription rights under the basic
subscription privileges.
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To
the extent that the aggregate rights price of the maximum number of
unsubscribed depositary shares available to you pursuant to your
over-subscription privilege is less than the amount you actually paid in
connection with the exercise of your over-subscription privilege, you will
be allocated only the number of unsubscribed depositary shares available
to you, and any excess payments received by the subscription agent will be
returned, without interest, as soon as practicable.
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To
the extent the amount you actually paid in connection with the exercise of
your over-subscription privilege is less than the aggregate rights price
of the maximum number of unsubscribed depositary shares available to you
pursuant to your over-subscription privilege, you will be allocated the
number of unsubscribed depositary shares for which you actually paid in
connection with the exercise of your over-subscription privilege.
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We will
deliver certificates representing depositary shares or (if you are a beneficial
owner of shares of our common stock that are registered in the name of a broker,
dealer, custodian bank or other nominee) credit your account at your record
holder with depositary shares purchased with the over-subscription privilege as
soon as practicable after the expiration of this rights offering. Any
excess subscription payments received by the subscription agent will be
returned, without interest, as soon as practicable.
We will
not offer or sell in connection with this rights offering any depositary shares
that are not subscribed for pursuant to the basic subscription privileges or the
over-subscription privileges. The Backstop Parties, however, have agreed
to backstop the offering as described under “—Rights Offering Letter
Agreement—Basic Commitment and Backstop Commitment.”
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Rights
Offering Letter Agreement
In
addition to setting forth the terms of this rights offering and the LLC’s
concurrent private placement, the Rights Offering Letter Agreement also includes
certain other agreements and commitments as described below. The Rights
Offering Letter Agreement, as amended, is an exhibit to the registration
statement of which this prospectus is a part.
Requirement
to Effect Rights Offering
Under the
Rights Offering Letter Agreement, we must use our commercially reasonable best
efforts to cause the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part
to be declared effective on or before January 24, 2011, and to remain effective
for a five-week offering period without interruption.
Basic
Commitment and Backstop Commitment
Subject
to the terms and conditions set forth in the Rights Offering Letter Agreement,
as amended, the Backstop Parties have agreed to (i) purchase depositary shares
in an amount equal to their full basic subscription privileges and participate
in the LLC’s concurrent private placement for their full LLC basic purchase
privileges (which we refer to as the “Basic Commitment”) and (ii) purchase
immediately prior to expiration of this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent
private placement (x) all of the available depositary shares not otherwise sold
in this rights offering following the exercise of all other holders’ basic
subscription privileges and over-subscription privileges and (y) all of the
available preferred membership interests in the LLC not otherwise sold in the
LLC’s concurrent private placement following the exercise of all LLC basic
purchase privileges and LLC additional purchase privileges of all other holders
of membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) (which we
refer to as the “Backstop Commitment”).
The price per depositary share or
preferred membership interest paid by the Backstop Parties pursuant to the
Backstop Commitment will be equal to $0.56 (and therefore will be equal to
the price paid by the other holders in this rights offering and in the LLC’s
concurrent private placement).
The
Backstop Parties may purchase depositary shares pursuant to their
over-subscription privileges and exercise their LLC additional purchase
privileges in the LLC’s concurrent private placement.
Any
depositary shares purchased by the Backstop Parties pursuant to the Basic
Commitment, the Backstop Commitment or their over-subscription privileges will
be purchased directly from us on a private basis and are not being registered
pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a
part.
Reduction
by Backstop Parties
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the
Rights Offering Letter Agreement provides that the Backstop Parties may (i)
reduce the number of depositary shares that they would otherwise be obligated to
purchase pursuant to the Basic Commitment or Backstop Commitment or (ii) cause
us to reduce the aggregate number of depositary shares offered in this rights
offering, in the event that the Backstop Parties determine, in their sole
discretion, that the consummation of this rights offering, the Basic Commitment
or the Backstop Commitment would result in adverse tax, legal or regulatory
consequences to us or any of the Backstop Parties. We expect that any such
reduction would reduce the proceeds available to us from this rights
offering.
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In the
event that the Backstop Parties cause us to reduce the aggregate number of
depositary shares offered in this rights offering or reduce the number of
depositary shares that they would otherwise be obligated to purchase pursuant to
the Basic Commitment or Backstop Commitment, this rights offering would proceed
with us and the Backstop Parties using commercially reasonable best efforts to
structure and consummate an alternative transaction to take the place of the
issuance of the depositary shares not purchased in this rights offering or
pursuant to the Basic Commitment or Backstop Commitment. The
alternative transaction would be structured so as to preserve the economic
benefits to the parties to the Rights Offering Letter Agreement as if this
rights offering had been consummated in full without giving effect to such
reduction (provided that no Backstop Party shall be obligated to fund an amount
in excess of the amount represented by its Backstop
Commitment). Nevertheless, it is not certain that we would be able to
consummate an alternative transaction to raise additional
proceeds. If we cannot consummate such an alternative transaction
following a reduction of this rights offering, we may not have sufficient funds
available to make the Cargill Cash Payment, repay the Subordinated Debt or,
ultimately, repay the Bridge Loan at maturity. See “Risk
Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry—The pending maturity of our
Bridge Loan, unless extended, raises substantial doubt about our ability to
continue as a going concern.” In the event that the size of this
rights offering is reduced, we will nonetheless apply whatever proceeds are
raised by this rights offering, the LLC’s concurrent private placement and the
Backstop Commitment in accordance with, and in the order specified by, “Use of
Proceeds.”
In
addition, one or more of the Backstop Parties may elect either (i) to exercise
their respective Backstop Commitments with respect to all or a portion of the
available depositary shares not otherwise sold in this rights offering following
the exercise of all other holders’ basic subscription privileges and
over-subscription privileges by purchasing a new class of class B preferred
membership interests in the LLC (instead of purchasing such available depositary
shares) in the event that such Backstop Parties determine, in their sole
discretion, that the purchase of such available depositary shares would result
in adverse tax, legal or regulatory consequences to us or such Backstop Parties,
which we refer to as a “LLC Backstop Reallocation,” or (ii) to not exercise
their respective Backstop Commitments with respect to all or a portion of the
available depositary shares not otherwise sold in this rights offering following
the exercise of all other holders’ basic subscription privileges and
over-subscription privileges in the event that such Backstop Parties determine,
in their sole discretion, that the purchase of such available depositary shares
would result in adverse tax, legal or regulatory consequences to us or such
Backstop Parties. Any election contemplated by clause (ii) of the
prior sentence would reduce the proceeds of this rights offering.
In the
event of a LLC Backstop Reallocation, the LLC will issue such class B preferred
membership interests to the applicable Backstop Parties (in equal number to the
number of available depositary shares not purchased because of such LLC Backstop
Reallocation) in exchange for payment of $0.56 for each class B preferred
membership interest purchased. The class B preferred membership
interests, if issued, would have the same terms as the preferred membership
interests (including as to conversion, distribution, liquidation and other
rights), except that, upon conversion of such class B preferred membership
interests, holders of such class B preferred membership interests would receive
membership interests in the LLC that would not be exchangeable (together with
the corresponding shares of our class B common stock) for shares of our common
stock.
Backstop
Parties’ Ownership
The
Backstop Parties or their affiliates own a significant number of shares of our
common stock and class B common stock. David Einhorn is the principal
of the Greenlight Parties and is a member of our board of
directors. The Greenlight Parties are affiliates of Greenlight
Capital, Inc., which, as of December 13, 2010, owned 7,542,104 shares of common
stock and 4,311,396 shares of class B common stock, which together represented
36.4% of our outstanding total voting stock (composed of our common stock and
class B common stock) on that date. Third Point is an affiliate of
Third Point Funds, which as of December 13, 2010, owned 5,578,800 shares of
common stock, which represented 17.1% of our outstanding total voting stock on
that date. Collectively, the Backstop Parties owned 53.5% of our
outstanding total voting stock on that date.
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If the
Backstop Commitment is exercised, we expect that the Backstop Parties’ and their
affiliates’ aggregate proportional ownership of our outstanding equity will
increase as a result of, and in proportion to, the performance by the Backstop
Parties of their Backstop Commitment.
As a
result of their substantial equity interest in us, the Backstop Parties have and
will continue to have considerable influence over our corporate affairs and
actions, including those submitted to a stockholder vote. In addition,
this rights offering may result in the Backstop Parties obtaining a much greater
degree of control of our company, which could make some transactions more
difficult or impossible without the support of the Backstop Parties. The
interests of the Backstop Parties may not always coincide with our interests as
a company or the interests of our other stockholders. Accordingly, these
stockholders could cause us to enter into transactions or agreements that you
would not approve or make decisions with which you may disagree.
Conditions
to Backstop Parties’ Obligations
The
Backstop Parties’ obligations to purchase any depositary shares pursuant to the
Basic Commitment or the Backstop Commitment are subject to various conditions,
including the following (unless waived by the Backstop Parties): (i)
we must be in compliance with our obligations under the Bridge Loan Agreement
and the other transaction documents relating thereto in all material respects;
(ii) there must not have occurred any material adverse change, or any
development involving a prospective material adverse change, in our condition,
financial or otherwise, or in our earnings, business, operations or properties;
(iii) there must not have occurred any material disruption or material adverse
change in the financial, banking or capital markets that, in the commercially
reasonable judgment of the Backstop Parties, would have a material adverse
impact on the success of this rights offering; (iv) the Cargill Letter must be
in full force and effect; (v) executive management waiver agreements (under
which certain members of our management team agree to waive any change of
control benefits that they may have under their employment arrangements as a
result of this rights offering) must be in full force and effect; (vi) all
required approvals and consents shall have been obtained and no actions, suits
or proceedings shall be pending or threatened that challenge the Rights Offering
Letter Agreement, the Bridge Loan Agreement, the Cargill Letter or any related
agreement; (vii) the Backstop Parties must be reasonably satisfied with the
certificate of designations setting forth the rights and preferences of the
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock as determined by the Greenlight
Parties in their reasonable discretion; and (viii) we must not have entered into
any letter of intent, memorandum of understanding, agreement in principle or
other agreement relating to any competing plan, proposal, offer or transaction
with a third party other than the Greenlight Parties materially inconsistent
with the Rights Offering Letter Agreement.
Substitute
Transaction
The
provisions of the Rights Offering Letter Agreement permit us to solicit,
participate in, initiate or facilitate discussions or negotiations with, or
provide any information to, any person or group of persons concerning any
alternative equity financing or other transaction that would result in the (a)
repayment in full of all amounts outstanding under the Bridge Loan Agreement,
(b) repayment in full of all amounts under the Subordinated Debt Agreement and
(c) satisfaction of all obligations under the Cargill Letter (which we refer to
as a “Substitute Transaction”). If, as a result of such activities, our
board of directors (excluding any board member that is an affiliate of the
Greenlight Parties) determines in good faith after consultation with outside
legal counsel and independent financial advisors that (i) we have the
opportunity to enter into a Substitute Transaction that will be consummated
within a timeframe that is not materially longer than the anticipated timeframe
for this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement but in no
event later than February 1, 2011, and (ii) such Substitute Transaction is more
favorable to the holders of our common stock (excluding benefits arising to the
Backstop Parties by virtue of the Backstop Commitment) than this rights offering
and the LLC’s concurrent private placement (taking into account all the terms
and conditions of such Substitute Transaction that the board deems relevant
including, without limitation, any break-up fee provisions, expense
reimbursement provisions, conditions to closing and availability of necessary
financing) and is reasonably likely to be consummated prior to February 1, 2011,
then we shall deliver three business days’ prior notice to the Greenlight
Parties of our intention to enter into such Substitute Transaction, together
with reasonable details concerning the terms and conditions of such Substitute
Transaction. After such three business day period, (x) the board would be
permitted to approve the Substitute Transaction, (y) we would be permitted to
enter into such Substitute Transaction and (z) we would be permitted to
terminate the Rights Offering Letter Agreement, so long as in each case (A) the
Substitute Transaction continues to meet the requirements described in clause
(ii) above and (B) upon execution of definitive documentation relating to a
Substitute Transaction, we pay to the Backstop Parties an aggregate break-up fee
(to be allocated among the Backstop Parties in accordance with their relative
Backstop Commitments) in cash equal to $350,000. We will also be required
to repay all amounts owed under the Bridge Loan Agreement and the Subordinated
Debt Agreement and satisfy all of our obligations under the Cargill Letter on or
before the earlier of February 1, 2011 and the closing date of such Substitute
Transaction.
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Termination
The obligations of the Backstop Parties
under the Rights Offering Letter Agreement are subject to termination
immediately, upon the election of the Greenlight Parties, at any time prior to
the consummation of this rights offering upon the occurrence of any of the
following: (i) the termination of the Bridge Loan Agreement; (ii) us
entering into a definitive agreement with respect to a Substitute Transaction;
(iii) the Greenlight Parties, in their reasonable judgment, determining that the
conditions to the Backstop Parties’ obligations are incapable of being satisfied
by January 24, 2011; (iv) there having occurred any material adverse change, or
any development involving a prospective material adverse change, in the
condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business, operations or
properties of us and our subsidiaries, taken as a whole; (v) the breach of any
covenant or other provision of the Rights Offering Letter Agreement by us that
has occurred and cannot be cured or satisfied with the passage of time or, if
capable of being cured or satisfied, cannot be cured or satisfied prior to March
24, 2011; (vi) our common stock no longer being listed on a national securities
exchange; or (vii) our adoption of any plan of merger, consolidation,
reorganization, liquidation or dissolution or filing of a petition in
bankruptcy.
Additionally,
the Rights Offering Letter Agreement provides that the obligations of the
parties to the Rights Offering Letter Agreement may be terminated by either the
Greenlight Parties or us upon the occurrence of (a) another party’s material
breach of any of the representations, warranties or covenants where such breach
remains uncured for a period of five days after receipt of notice of such breach
or (b) the issuance by any governmental authority of any ruling or order
enjoining the consummation of a material portion of the rights offering or any
related transactions. As described under “—Substitute Transaction,” we
also have the ability to terminate the Rights Offering Letter Agreement in
certain circumstances in connection with a Substitute Transaction.
Fees
and Expenses Paid or Payable to the Backstop Parties
On
September 24, 2010, we paid the Backstop Parties $743,795 in consideration of
the Backstop Commitment and a fee of $776,825 in consideration of the funding of
the Bridge Loan. If the aggregate amount of this rights offering plus the
LLC’s concurrent private placement is greater than $40,000,000, an additional
fee of 4% of the excess will be payable to the Backstop Parties as additional
consideration for the Backstop Commitment (excluding for calculation purposes
any additional depositary shares or preferred membership interests purchased by
the Backstop Parties pursuant to their Basic Commitment or their
over-subscription privileges or LLC additional purchase privileges). No
portion of the Backstop Commitment fee previously paid to the Backstop Parties
is refundable, even if the Backstop Parties elect to reduce the number of
depositary shares that they would otherwise be obligated to purchase pursuant to
the Basic Commitment or Backstop Commitment or cause us to reduce the aggregate
number of depositary shares offered in this rights offering as described under
“—Reduction by Backstop Parties” or we enter into a Substitute
Transaction.
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As
described under “—Substitute Transaction,” if we sign a definitive agreement
relating to a Substitute Transaction, we will also be required to pay the
Backstop Parties a break-up fee equal to $350,000. In addition, we have
agreed to pay the reasonable fees and expenses of the Backstop Parties incurred
in connection with the Rights Offering Letter Agreement and the transactions
contemplated hereby, including this rights offering (including the reasonable
fees and expenses of legal counsel to the Backstop Parties).
Indemnification
Under the
Rights Offering Letter Agreement, we have agreed to indemnify and hold harmless
the Backstop Parties and their stockholders, officers, directors, employees,
affiliates, advisors, agents, attorneys, accountants and consultants from and
against any and all losses resulting from or arising out of the Rights Offering
Letter Agreement, this rights offering, the Backstop Commitment or any related
transaction (but the indemnity will not apply to any indemnified person to the
extent any losses it has incurred resulted from the bad faith, willful
misconduct or gross negligence of such indemnified person).
Stockholder
Approval
Pursuant
to and in accordance with the Rights Offering Letter Agreement, we will use our
commercially reasonable best efforts to obtain stockholder approval of the
authorization of all shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of all
shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock. To that
end, on November 15, 2010 we filed a proxy statement with the Securities and
Exchange Commission in connection with a stockholder meeting to be called for
such purpose, and we must use our best efforts to obtain such approval by
January 24, 2011.
Unless
and until the requisite stockholder approval is obtained, no shares of Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock will convert into shares of common stock
(and therefore no shares of common stock will be available for distribution by
the depositary to the holders of the depositary shares). We intend to seek
the requisite stockholder approval as soon as practicable.
Shares
Outstanding Before and After this Rights Offering
25,465,728 shares
of our common stock and 7,111,985 shares of our class B common stock were
outstanding as of December 13, 2010.
Immediately
following the consummation of this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent
private placement, assuming that neither the size of this rights offering nor
the size of the Basic Commitment or Backstop Commitment is reduced by the
Backstop Parties, assuming that there is no LLC Backstop Reallocation and before
giving effect to the Cargill Stock Payment, we expect that 64,210,390 depositary
shares will be issued in this rights offering representing an aggregate of
2,000,000 shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock.
Following
the consummation of this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private
placement and upon the conversion of all shares of Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock into shares of common stock, assuming that neither
the size of this rights offering nor the size of the Basic Commitment or
Backstop Commitment is reduced by the Backstop Parties, assuming that there is
no LLC Backstop Reallocation (as defined below) and before giving effect to the
Cargill Stock Payment, we expect that 64,210,390 additional shares of common
stock will be issued in connection with the conversion of all 2,000,000 shares
of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock (resulting in there being
89,676,118 total shares of common stock outstanding).
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Preferred
Membership Interests in the LLC Outstanding After Completion of this Rights
Offering and the LLC’s Concurrent Private Placement
Immediately
following the consummation of this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent
private placement, assuming that neither the size of this rights offering nor
the size of the Basic Commitment or Backstop Commitment is reduced by the
Backstop Parties, assuming that there is no LLC Backstop Reallocation and before
giving effect to the Cargill Stock Payment, we expect that 82,142,858 preferred
membership interests will be issued, with 64,210,390 being issued to BioFuel
Energy Corp. and 17,932,468 being issued to the holders of membership interests
in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.).
Following
the consummation of this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private
placement and upon the conversion of all preferred membership interests into
common membership interests, assuming that neither the size of this rights
offering nor the size of the Basic Commitment or Backstop Commitment is reduced
by the Backstop Parties, assuming that there is no LLC Backstop Reallocation and
before giving effect to the Cargill Stock Payment, we expect that 82,142,858
additional common membership interests will be issued and that 17,932,468
additional shares of class B common stock will be issued to the holders of
membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) (resulting in
there being 25,044,453 total shares of class B common stock
outstanding).
Listing
Shares of
our common stock are currently listed on The Nasdaq Global Market under the
symbol “BIOF.”
Neither
the subscription rights nor the depositary shares will be listed for trading on
any stock exchange.
Registration
Rights
In
connection with our initial public offering, we entered into a registration
rights agreement pursuant to which we may be required to register the sale of
shares of our common stock held by the Backstop Parties and our other historical
equity investors (or to be acquired by such investors upon exchange of their
membership interests in the LLC for shares of our common stock) and certain of
their transferees. Under the registration rights agreement, under certain
circumstances and subject to certain restrictions, our historical equity
investors have the right to request us to register the sale of their shares and
may require us to make available shelf registration statements permitting sales
of shares into the market from time to time over an extended
period.
In
connection with this rights offering, we will amend and restate the existing
registration rights agreement to provide that we may, under certain
circumstances and subject to certain restrictions, also be required to register
the sale of shares of our common stock that are issued to (i) the Backstop
Parties and our other historical equity investors in respect of any depositary
shares that they acquire pursuant to their basic subscription privileges or
over-subscription privileges (or the Backstop Parties acquire upon exercise of
their Backstop Commitment) following conversion of the Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock, (ii) the Backstop Parties and our other historical
equity investors in respect of any membership interests in the LLC that are
issued to them following conversion of any preferred membership interests in the
LLC that they acquire in the LLC’s concurrent private placement (or the Backstop
Parties acquire upon exercise of their Backstop Commitment) and (iii) the
Backstop Parties in respect of the warrants that may be issued to them in the
event that the Bridge Loan is not paid in full on or prior to March 24,
2011.
Expiration
Date and Amendments
The
subscription period during which you may exercise your subscription rights
expires at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on January 28, 2011, which is the
expiration date of this rights offering. If you do not exercise your
subscription rights prior to that time, your subscription rights will expire and
will no longer be exercisable and will be of no value. We will not be
required to issue depositary shares to you if the subscription agent receives
your rights certificate or your subscription payment after that time, regardless
of when the rights certificate and subscription payment were sent. If
you are a beneficial owner of shares of common stock that are registered in the
name of a broker, dealer, custodian bank or other nominee, your subscription
rights will not be considered exercised unless the subscription agent receives
from your broker, dealer, custodian bank or other nominee all of the required
documents and your full subscription payment prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City
time, on the expiration date.
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Subject
to the terms of the Rights Offering Letter Agreement and the consent of the
Backstop Parties, our board of directors may determine to extend the
subscription period, and thereby postpone the expiration date. Any
extension of this rights offering will be followed as promptly as practicable by
announcement thereof, and in no event later than 9:00 a.m., New York City time,
on the next business day following the previously scheduled expiration date.
Without limiting the manner in which we may choose to make such announcement, we
will not, unless otherwise required by law, have any obligation to publish,
advertise or otherwise communicate any such announcement other than by issuing a
press release or such other means of announcement as we deem
appropriate.
Subject
to the terms of the Rights Offering Letter Agreement and the consent of the
Backstop Parties, we reserve the right to amend or modify any other terms of
this rights offering.
Termination
This
rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement may only be
terminated with the consent of the Backstop Parties or after termination of the
Rights Offering Letter Agreement. See “—Rights Offering Letter
Agreement—Termination.” If we terminate this rights offering, all
subscription rights will expire without value and the only obligation that we
and the subscription agent will have with respect to subscription rights that
have been exercised will be to return any subscription payments the subscription
agent has received, without interest, as soon as practicable.
Transferability
of Subscription Rights
The
subscription rights granted to you are non-transferable and, therefore, you may
not sell, transfer or assign your subscription rights to anyone. The
subscription rights will not be listed for trading on The Nasdaq Global Market
or on any stock exchange or market. The subsequent transfer after the
record date of shares of common stock for which subscription rights were granted
will not have any effect on the selling holder’s subscription privileges in
respect of any such subscription rights.
Reasons
for this Rights Offering
We are
conducting this rights offering to raise capital that we will use, together
with the proceeds of the LLC’s concurrent private placement and the Backstop
Commitment, to pay off the Bridge Loan, pay off all indebtedness under the
Subordinated Debt Agreement, make the Cargill Cash Payment and to pay certain
fees and expenses of this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private
placement.
In
September 2010, $17.9 million of outstanding working capital loans under our
Senior Debt Facility were scheduled to become due and it was not clear in
advance of that time that we would have sufficient liquidity to both repay these
loans when due and to maintain our operations. If we had been unable
to repay the working capital loans at maturity, it would have resulted in an
event of default under our Senior Debt Facility and a cross-default under our
Subordinated Debt Agreement, and would have allowed the lenders to accelerate
repayment of amounts outstanding. In that event, the Company may have
had to seek relief from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy
Code.
In order
to avoid such an event, during the late spring and summer of 2010 we evaluated
various alternatives and attempted to engage in discussions with our
lenders under our Senior Debt Facility and representatives for them seeking a
one-year extension of the working capital loans, which by the terms of the
Senior Debt Facility would have required the consent of lenders holding
two-thirds of the outstanding loans or, failing that, a forbearance or other
form of amendment to the Senior Debt Facility. In early September 2010, when it
became apparent that these discussions with the lenders under our Senior Debt
Facility were not likely to reach a timely conclusion on terms acceptable to the
Company, our board of directors commenced explorative discussions with the
Greenlight Parties to have the Greenlight Parties lend the Company funds on a
short-term basis in order to pay off the working capital loans at maturity. In
connection with those discussions, the parties discussed having the Company
raise equity capital promptly in order to repay any such short-term loan. The
Greenlight Parties and the Company also discussed whether the Greenlight Parties
would, if requested by the Company, be willing to consider "backstopping" any
proposed equity capital transaction. The parties also engaged in discussions
with Cargill regarding the modification and repayment of amounts owed by the
Company to Cargill under the terms of the agreement dated January 14,2009 by and
between the Company and Cargill (which we refer to as the "Settlement
Agreement").
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Because
David Einhorn, who is the principal of the Greenlight Parties, is a member of
our board of directors, our board of directors established an
independent committee consisting only of independent members of the
board in order
to assess the fairness of any such transaction. The independent committee
engaged separate legal counsel and engaged Piper Jaffray & Co. as the
independent financial advisor to the committee. The independent
committee met a number of times in September of 2010 and, on September 17,
proposed to the Greenlight Parties a transaction structure consisting of a
short-term bridge loan to the Company (to be used to pay off the working capital
loans) followed by a rights offering, backstopped by the Greenlight Parties, to
raise capital to repay the bridge loan. Over the course of the next
week, the independent committee and the Greenlight Parties negotiated the terms
of such a transaction. Toward the end of that week, the Greenlight
Parties and the Company inquired as to whether Third Point would be
interested in participating alongside the Greenlight Parties, and Third Point
thereafter joined the negotiations. On September 24, 2010, the
committee recommended to the board and, on that date, the board of
directors approved the Rights Offering Letter Agreement, the Bridge Loan
Agreement and the Voting Agreements. David Einhorn was not
involved in any of the deliberations or negotiations of the independent
committee or the board in connection with the Bridge Loan Agreement, the Rights
Offering Letter Agreement (or amendment thereto) or the Voting Agreements (or
amendments thereto). The terms of the Rights Offering Letter
Agreement, which govern the terms of this rights offering and the LLC’s
concurrent private placement, the Bridge Loan Agreement and the Voting
Agreements were determined after arm’s-length negotiations between the
independent committee and the Backstop Parties.
The
proceeds of the Bridge Loan were used to pay off the outstanding working capital
loans and to pay certain related fees and expenses. The Rights
Offering Letter Agreement was entered into in connection with the Bridge Loan
Agreement because it provided a means for us to raise equity capital in this
rights offering, the LLC’s concurrent private placement and the Backstop
Commitment to repay the Bridge Loan at or prior to maturity. Without
this means of repayment, the Backstop Parties may not have provided the Bridge
Loan and, as a result, we may not have been able to pay off the working capital
loans at maturity.
In
negotiating and recommending to the board of directors the terms of this rights
offering, the independent committee considered a number of factors, including,
but not limited to, the price at which we believe our stockholders might be
willing to participate in this rights offering, our need for liquidity and
additional capital, the fact that no
alternative transaction was imminent, the fact that all of our
stockholders are entitled to participate in this rights offering on a pro rata
basis and the fact that holders of subscription rights will have an
over-subscription privilege. Prior to concluding that the Rights
Offering Letter Agreement and this rights offering were in our best interest,
the independent committee also considered the likelihood of obtaining an
extension or a forbearance of the working capital loans on acceptable terms, the
likelihood of existing stockholders realizing value in the Company in the event
of a Chapter 11 filing, and the fact that, pursuant to the agreed terms of the
Rights Offering Letter Agreement, we have the ability to solicit and, in certain
circumstances, consummate a Substitute Transaction (see “—Rights Offer Letter
Agreement—Substitute Transaction”). The independent committee
received financial advice from Piper Jaffray & Co., the independent
financial advisor to the committee, and was advised by independent legal
counsel. In advising the independent committee, Piper
Jaffray: provided advice concerning the financial aspects, and
capital market implications, of the Bridge Loan, this rights offering and
potential alternative transactions; participated in telephonic meetings with the
committee; and reviewed precedent transactions and provided summary comparisons
of those precedent transactions to the committee. Piper Jaffray is
also advising the independent committee in connection with its review of any
potential Substitute Transactions that may arise.
In
structuring the terms of this rights offering, the independent committee and the
Backstop Parties established the formula used to calculate the rights price at
an amount substantially below the market price of our common stock at the time
of determination in order to increase the attractiveness of participating in
this rights offering for our stockholders. In addition, this rights
offering was structured as a rights offering for depositary shares representing
fractional interests in Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock because
of the likelihood that we would not have sufficient authorized but unissued
shares of common stock to structure this rights offering as a rights offering
for new shares of common stock. We also agreed and
acknowledged that we would seek stockholder approval of a proposal to
amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation in order to
facilitate the conversion of all shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock into shares of common stock.
Method
of Exercising Subscription Rights
Rights
are evidenced by rights certificates, which will either be physical certificates
or electronic certificates issued through the facilities of DTC. Except as
described below under “Foreign Stockholders,” the rights certificates will be
delivered to record date stockholders or, if a stockholder’s common stock is
registered in the name of a broker, dealer, custodian bank or other nominee, on
his, her or its behalf, to such broker, dealer, custodian bank or other
nominee. The exercise of subscription rights is irrevocable and may not be
cancelled or modified.
Record
Holders
Subscription
rights may be exercised by registered holders of shares of our common stock by
completing and signing the rights certificate and delivering the completed and
duly executed rights certificate, together with any required signature
guarantees and the full subscription payment, to the subscription agent at the
address set forth below under “—Subscription Agent.” Completed rights
certificates and related payments must be received by the subscription agent
prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the expiration date of this rights
offering.
Beneficial
Owners
If you
are a beneficial owner of shares of our common stock that are registered in the
name of a broker, dealer, custodian bank or other nominee and you wish to
exercise your subscription rights, you should instruct your broker, dealer,
custodian bank or other nominee to exercise your subscription rights and deliver
all documents and payment on your behalf prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time,
on the expiration date. We will ask your record holder to notify you of
this rights offering. You should complete and return to your record holder the
appropriate subscription documentation you receive from your record
holder. Your subscription rights will not be considered exercised unless
the subscription agent receives from your broker, dealer, custodian bank or
other nominee all of the required documents and your full subscription payment
prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the expiration date.
Brokers,
dealers, custodian banks or other nominee holders of subscription rights will be
required to certify to the subscription agent, before any basic subscription
privilege or over-subscription privilege may be exercised with respect to any
particular beneficial owner, as to the aggregate number of depositary shares
subscribed for pursuant to the basic subscription privilege and the number of
depositary shares subscribed for pursuant to the over-subscription privilege by
such beneficial owner.
Nominees
Nominees,
such as brokers, dealers, custodian banks or other nominees, who hold shares of
common stock for the account of others should notify the respective beneficial
owners as soon as possible to ascertain the beneficial owners’ intentions and to
obtain instructions with respect to the subscription rights. If the
beneficial owner so instructs, the nominee should exercise the subscription
rights on behalf of the beneficial owner and deliver all documents and payment
prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the expiration date.
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Whether
you are a record holder or hold through a broker, dealer, custodian bank or
other nominee, we will not be obligated to honor your exercise of subscription
rights if the subscription agent receives the documents relating to your
exercise from you or from your nominee, as applicable, after the expiration of
this rights offering, regardless of when you transmitted the
documents.
Payment
Method
Payments
must be made in full in U.S. currency by certified or cashier’s check payable to
BNY Mellon Shareholder Services, the subscription agent, drawn upon a U.S.
bank. Such payment will be deemed to have been received by the
subscription agent immediately upon receipt.
Payment
received after the expiration of this rights offering will not be honored, and
the subscription agent will return your payment to you, without interest, as
soon as practicable.
Personal
checks will not be accepted.
You
should read the instruction letters accompanying the rights certificate
carefully and strictly follow them. DO NOT SEND RIGHTS CERTIFICATES OR
PAYMENTS TO US. We will not consider your subscription received until the
subscription agent has received delivery of a properly completed and duly
executed rights certificate (delivered by you or your nominee) and payment of
the full subscription payment amount. The risk of delivery of all documents and
payments is borne by you or your nominee, not by the subscription agent or
us.
The
method of delivery of rights certificates and payment of the subscription
payment amount to the subscription agent will be at the risk of the holders of
subscription rights. If sent by mail, we recommend that you send those
certificates and payments by overnight courier or by registered mail, properly
insured, with return receipt requested, and that a sufficient number of days be
allowed to ensure delivery to the subscription agent. If you are a
beneficial holder, you must act promptly to ensure that your broker, dealer,
custodian bank or other nominee acts for you and that all required forms and
payments are actually received by the subscription agent prior to the expiration
of this rights offering. We are not responsible if your broker, dealer,
custodian bank or other nominee fails to ensure that all required forms and
payments are actually received by the subscription agent prior to the expiration
of this rights offering.
Unless a
rights certificate provides that the depositary shares are to be delivered to
the record holder of such rights or such certificate is submitted for the
account of a bank or a broker, signatures on such rights certificate must be
guaranteed by an “eligible guarantor institution,” as such term is defined in
Rule 17Ad-15 of the Exchange Act, subject to any standards and procedures
adopted by the subscription agent.
Missing
or Incomplete Subscription Information
If you do
not indicate the number of subscription rights being exercised (either under
your basic subscription privilege or your over-subscription privilege), or the
subscription agent does not receive the full subscription payment for the number
of subscription rights that you indicate are being exercised, then you will be
deemed to have exercised the maximum number of subscription rights that may be
exercised with the aggregate subscription payment you delivered to the
subscription agent. If the subscription agent does not apply your full
subscription payment to your purchase of depositary shares, any excess
subscription payment received by the subscription agent will be returned,
without interest, as soon as practicable.
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Validity
of Subscriptions
We will
resolve in our sole discretion all questions regarding the validity and form of
the exercise of your subscription rights, including time of receipt and
eligibility to participate in this rights offering. Our determination will be
final and binding. Once made, subscriptions and directions are irrevocable, and
we will not accept any alternative, conditional or contingent subscriptions or
directions. We reserve the absolute right to reject any subscriptions or
directions not properly submitted or the acceptance of which would be
unlawful. You must resolve any irregularities in connection with your
subscriptions before the subscription period expires, unless waived by us in our
sole discretion. Neither we nor the subscription agent will be under any
duty to notify you or your representative of defects in your
subscriptions. A subscription will be considered accepted, subject to our
right to withdraw or terminate this rights offering, only when a properly
completed and duly executed rights certificate and any other required documents
and the full subscription payment have been received by the subscription
agent. Our interpretations of the terms and conditions of this rights
offering will be final and binding.
Subscription
Agent
The
subscription agent for this rights offering is BNY Mellon Shareowner
Services. If your shares of common stock are held in the name of a broker,
dealer, custodian bank or other nominee, then you should send your applicable
subscription documents to your broker, dealer, custodian bank or other nominee.
If you are a record holder, then the address to which subscription documents,
rights certificates and subscription payments should be mailed or delivered
is:
By Mail:
|
By Hand or Overnight
Courier:
|
BNY
Mellon Shareowner Services
|
BNY
Mellon Shareowner Services
|
Attn: Corporate
Actions Dept.
|
Attn: Corporate
Actions, 27th Floor
|
P.O.
Box 3301
|
480
Washington Blvd
|
South
Hackensack, NJ 07606
|
Jersey
City,
NJ 07310
|
If you
deliver subscription documents, rights certificates or subscription payments in
a manner different from that described in this prospectus, we may not honor the
exercise of your subscription rights.
Information
Agent
The
information agent for this rights offering is Okapi Partners LLC. You
should direct any questions or requests for assistance concerning the method of
subscribing for depositary shares or for additional copies of this prospectus to
the information agent at the below address:
Okapi
Partners LLC
437
Madison Avenue, 28th Floor
New York,
New York 10022
Banks and
brokerage firms: (212) 297-0720
Stockholders
and all others, toll-free: (877) 869-0171
Email: info@okapipartners.com
Rights holders may also contact their
broker, dealer, custodian bank or other nominee for information with respect to
this rights offering.
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Fees
and Expenses
We will
pay all fees and expenses of the subscription agent and the information
agent. You are responsible for paying any other commissions, fees, taxes
or other expenses incurred in connection with the exercise of the subscription
rights.
Escrow
Arrangements; Return of Funds
The
subscription agent will hold funds received in payment for depositary shares in
a segregated account pending completion of this rights offering. The
subscription agent will hold this money in escrow until this rights offering is
completed or is terminated. If this rights offering is terminated for any
reason, all subscription payments received by the subscription agent will be
returned, without interest, as soon as practicable.
Stockholder
Rights
You will
have no rights as a holder of the depositary shares you purchase in this rights
offering, if any, until certificates representing the depositary shares are
issued to you or your account at your record holder is credited with the
depositary shares purchased in this rights offering.
Foreign
Stockholders
We will
not mail the rights certificates to record stockholders with addresses that are
outside the United States or that have a military post office or foreign post
office address. The subscription agent will hold these rights certificates for
their account. To exercise subscription rights, our foreign stockholders must
notify the subscription agent prior to 11:00 a.m., New York City time, at least
three business days prior to the expiration of this rights offering and
demonstrate to the satisfaction of the subscription agent that the exercise of
such subscription rights does not violate the laws of the jurisdiction of such
stockholder.
No
Revocation or Change
Once you
submit the rights certificate to exercise any subscription rights or, if you are
a beneficial owner of shares of common stock that are registered in the name of
a broker, dealer, custodian bank or other nominee, your subscription rights are
exercised on your behalf by your nominee, you are not allowed to revoke or
change the exercise or request a refund of monies paid. All exercises of
subscription rights are irrevocable, even if you subsequently learn information
about us that you consider to be unfavorable. You should not exercise your
subscription rights unless you are certain that you wish to purchase depositary
shares.
Regulatory
Limitation
We will
not be required to issue to you depositary shares pursuant to this rights
offering if, in our opinion, you are required to obtain prior clearance or
approval from any state or federal regulatory authorities to own or control such
depositary shares and if, at the time this rights offering expires, you have not
obtained such clearance or approval.
Material
U.S. Federal Income Tax Treatment of Rights Distribution
You
should not recognize income, gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes
in connection with the receipt or exercise of subscription rights to purchase
depositary shares in this offering. You are urged to consult your own tax
advisor regarding the specific tax consequences to you in connection with your
participation in this rights offering. See “Material U.S. Federal Income
Tax Consequences.”
69
No
Recommendation to Rights Holders
Our board
of directors is making no recommendation regarding your exercise of the
subscription rights. You are urged to make your decision based on your own
assessment of our business and this rights offering. Please see “Risk
Factors” for a discussion of some of the risks involved in investing in the
depositary shares.
70
Description
of Capital Stock
The following description
is a summary of the material terms of our common stock, class B common
stock, preferred stock, Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock,
depositary shares, LLC membership interests, LLC preferred membership interests,
certificate of incorporation and bylaws.
Authorized
Capital
Our authorized capital stock consists
of 100 million shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, 50 million
shares of class B common stock, par value $0.01 per share, and 5 million shares
of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share.
Common
Stock
Common
Stock
Holders of our common stock are
entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters on which
stockholders generally are entitled to vote. Holders of our common stock
and class B common stock vote together as a single class on all matters
presented to our stockholders for their vote or approval, except as otherwise
required by applicable law.
Holders of our common stock are
entitled to receive dividends when and if declared by our board of directors out
of funds legally available therefor, subject to any statutory or contractual
restrictions on the payment of dividends and to any restrictions on the payment
of dividends imposed by the terms of any outstanding preferred
stock. We do not intend to pay cash dividends on our common stock for
the foreseeable future. However, to ensure that our public
stockholders are treated fairly with the holders of membership interests in the
LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.), it is intended that all distributions
received from the LLC, other than distributions to cover tax obligations and
other corporate expenses, will be dividended to holders of our common stock.
In the event of our dissolution,
liquidation or winding up, after payment in full of all amounts required to be
paid to creditors and to the holders of preferred stock having liquidation
preferences, if any, the holders of our common stock will be entitled to receive
pro rata our remaining assets available for distribution.
The holders of our common stock have no
conversion, preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no
redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our common
stock.
Class
B Common Stock
Holders of membership interests in the
LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) also hold one share of class B common
stock for each membership interest held. Shares of our class B common
stock entitle the holder to one vote for each share held of record on all
matters on which stockholders generally are entitled to vote. If a holder
of our class B common stock exchanges any of its membership interests in the LLC
for shares of our common stock, the shares of our class B common stock held by
such holder and attributable to the exchanged LLC membership interests will
automatically be transferred to BioFuel Energy Corp. and be retired without
further action.
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Holders of our common stock and class B
common stock vote together as a single class on all matters presented to our
stockholders for their vote or approval, except as otherwise required by
applicable law.
Holders of our class B common stock do
not have any right to receive dividends or to receive a distribution upon a
dissolution, liquidation or winding up of BioFuel Energy Corp.
Preferred
Stock
Our board of directors has the
authority, subject to any limitations imposed by law or Nasdaq rules, without
further action by the stockholders, to issue up to 5 million shares of preferred
stock in one or more series and to fix the rights, preferences, privileges and
restrictions of each series of such preferred stock. These rights,
preferences and privileges include dividend rights, conversion rights, voting
rights, terms of redemption, liquidation preferences, sinking fund terms and the
number of shares constituting any series or the designation of that series, any
or all of which may be greater than the rights of common stock. Upon
consummation of this rights offering, our board of directors will designate and
issue 2 million shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock.
Series
A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
The
following description is a summary of the material terms of the certificate of
designations for the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock, par value
$0.01 per share. A copy of the certificate of designations and the form of
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock stock certificate will be filed
as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
General
Shares of
the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock represent a single series of
our authorized preferred stock. In this rights offering, we are offering
depositary shares representing fractional interests in shares of the Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock. The depositary will be the sole
holder of shares of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock.
The holders of depositary shares will be required to exercise their proportional
rights in the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock through the
depositary as described under “—Description of the Depositary
Shares.”
Twelve
business days after the consummation of this rights offering, we expect to issue
additional depositary shares to Cargill in order to make the Cargill Stock
Payment. The depositary shares to be issued to Cargill will be issued
after the depositary shares that will be issued upon expiration of this rights
offering but will have the same rights and preferences as the depositary shares
that will be issued upon expiration of this rights offering. In order to
issue the depositary shares that will make up the Cargill Stock Payment, we
expect to designate and issue and deposit with the depositary a number of
additional shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock that
corresponds to the aggregate fractional interests in shares of Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock that the newly issued depositary shares
represent. In the event that an insufficient number of authorized shares
of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock are available for such
issuance and deposit with the depositary, we expect to establish an alternative
method for satisfying the Cargill Stock Payment that is satisfactory to us,
Cargill and the Backstop Parties.
72
When
issued against the consideration therefor, the Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock and any shares of our common stock issued upon the conversion of
the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock will be fully paid and
non-assessable. The holders of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock will have no preemptive or preferential right to purchase or
subscribe for stock, obligations, warrants or other securities of the Company of
any class.
The
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock is automatically convertible, if
certain conditions are met, into shares of common stock as described below under
“—Automatic Conversion.”
Dividends
and Other Distributions
The
holders of shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock will be
entitled to receive dividends or distributions (as applicable), when, as and if
such dividends or distributions (as applicable) are paid to the holders of our
common stock; provided that each share of Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock shall entitle the holder to receive any such dividends or
distributions (as applicable) in an amount equal to the aggregate dividends or
distributions that would be entitled to be received by holders of a number of
shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing the total
number of depositary shares actually purchased in this rights offering and
pursuant to the Backstop Commitment by 2,000,000.
We are
only obligated to pay a dividend on the Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock if our board of directors or an authorized committee of our
board declares the dividend payable and we have assets that legally can be used
to pay the dividend.
Automatic
Conversion
Each
share of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock shall, following the
requisite stockholder approval, automatically convert into a number of shares of
common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing the total number of
depositary shares actually purchased in this rights offering and pursuant to the
Backstop Commitment by 2,000,000 (which we refer to as the “Conversion
Rate”). The requisite stockholder approval means that approval by the
holders of our common stock and class B common stock of the authorization and
issuance of all additional shares of common stock issuable (i) upon conversion
of all shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock at the
Conversion Rate and (ii) upon the exchange on a one-for-one basis of all
membership interests in the LLC that would be received by the holders of
membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) following the
conversion of all preferred membership interests they receive in the LLC’s
concurrent private placement for membership interests. To the extent
necessary, the requisite stockholder approval would also include the
authorization of all additional shares of class B common stock issuable upon the
conversion of all preferred membership interests received by the holders of
membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) in the LLC’s
concurrent private placement.
Anti-dilution;
Mergers
The
Conversion Rate shall be subject to certain customary anti-dilution adjustments
in the event of any dividend or other distribution payable in stock, stock
split, reverse split, certain other recapitalizations or similar transactions or
sales of common stock at a price below the rights price occurring after the date
of issuance of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock. The Conversion Rate will not be adjusted as a result of the
Cargill Stock Payment.
In
addition, in the event of any consolidation, merger, combination or other
transaction in which our common stock is exchanged for or changed into other
stock or securities, cash or any other property, then in any such case the then
outstanding shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock shall at
the same time be similarly exchanged or changed.
73
Redemption
The
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock will not be
redeemable.
Liquidation
Preference
In the
event of our voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up,
each share of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock will be entitled
to receive and to be paid out of our assets available for distribution to our
stockholders, before any payment or distribution is made to holders of common
stock or any other class of capital stock or series of preferred stock
established after the original issue date of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock the terms of which do not expressly provide that such class or
series will rank senior to or on a parity with the Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock as to rights upon our liquidation, dissolution or
winding up, but after any distribution on any class of our capital stock or
series of preferred stock established after the issue date the terms of which
expressly provide that such class or series will rank senior to the Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock as to rights upon our liquidation,
dissolution or winding up, a liquidation preference in an amount equal to $0.56
multiplied by the quotient obtained by dividing the total number of depositary
shares actually purchased in this rights offering and pursuant to the Backstop
Commitment by 2,000,000, plus declared but unpaid dividends, if
any. If, upon our voluntary or involuntary liquidation, winding up or
dissolution, the amounts payable with respect to the liquidation preference of
the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock and any class of capital
stock or series of preferred stock established after the issue date, the terms
of which expressly provide that such class or series will rank on a parity with
the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock as to rights upon our
liquidation, dissolution or winding up (which we refer to collectively as
“parity stock”) are not paid in full, the holders of the Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock and the parity stock will share equally and ratably
in any distribution of our assets in proportion to the full liquidation
preference to which they are entitled. After payment of the full
amount of the liquidation preference to which they are entitled, the holders of
the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock will have no right or claim
to any of our remaining assets in the event of our liquidation, dissolution or
winding up.
Neither
the sale, conveyance or other transfer of all or substantially all of our assets
or business (other than in connection with our liquidation, dissolution or
winding up), nor our merger or consolidation into or with any other person, will
be deemed to be our voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding
up.
The
certificate of designations for the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock will not contain any provision requiring funds to be set aside to protect
the liquidation preference of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock even though it is substantially in excess of the par value
thereof.
Voting
Rights
The
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock will have no voting rights
except as set forth below or as otherwise required by Delaware law from time to
time.
We will
not, without the approval of at least a majority of the shares of the Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock then outstanding (in the aggregate,
voting together as a class):
|
·
|
authorize
or issue additional shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock of the same series (provided that no such approval shall be required
in respect of any shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock to be authorized and issued in connection with the Cargill Stock
Payment);
|
74
·
|
authorize
or issue any other series of preferred equity securities which are senior
or on parity with respect to liquidation or dividend payments to the
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock; or
|
|
·
|
amend
our certificate of incorporation and bylaws if the amendment would
adversely affect the rights, preferences or privileges of the holders of
the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock.
|
Listing
There will not be any trading market
for the shares of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock.
Description
of the Depositary Shares
The
following description is a summary of the material terms of the depositary
shares. The deposit agreement will be filed as an exhibit to the
registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
General
Each
depositary share will represent a fractional interest in a share of Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock equal to the fraction determined by
dividing 2,000,000 by the total number of depositary shares actually purchased
in this rights offering and pursuant to the Backstop Commitment and will
initially be evidenced by a global security, as defined in and described under
“—Book-entry, Settlement and Clearance.” Subject to the terms of the
deposit agreement, each depositary share will be entitled to all rights and
preferences of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock, including
rights upon conversion, in proportion to the fraction of a share of the Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock such depositary share represents.
In this
section, references to “holders” of depositary shares mean those who have
depositary shares registered in their own names on the books maintained by the
depositary and not indirect holders who will own beneficial interests in
depositary shares registered in the street name of, or issued in book-entry form
through, DTC prior to the conversion of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock. You should review the special considerations that apply to
indirect holders as described under “—Book-entry, Settlement and
Clearance.”
Dividends
and Other Distributions
The
depositary will deliver any cash it receives in respect of dividends or other
distributions on the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock to the
holders of the depositary shares in proportion to the number of outstanding
depositary shares held by such holders, on the date of receipt or as soon as
practicable thereafter.
Record
dates for the payment of dividends on the depositary shares will be the same as
the corresponding record dates for the payment of dividends on the Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock.
If the
depositary determines that any dividend or other distribution of property other
than cash is subject to tax or other governmental charge that the depositary is
obligated by law to withhold, the depositary may dispose of all or any portion
of such property, at a public or private sale, as the depositary deems necessary
and practicable to pay such tax or charge, and the depositary will distribute
the net proceeds of such sale or the balance of any such property, after
deduction of such tax or charge, to holders of the depositary shares in
proportion to the number of outstanding depositary shares that they hold.
If the depositary determines, however, that any distribution of cash or other
property to certain holders (but not all holders) is subject to withholding tax,
the depositary will reduce the amount of such cash distribution to such holders
or use its best efforts to sell only the non-cash property distributable to such
holders, as the case may be.
75
Conversion
of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
Each
share of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock shall, following the
requisite stockholder approval, automatically convert into a number of shares of
common stock at the Conversion Rate. For a full description of the terms
and conditions on which the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock is
automatically convertible, see “—Description of the Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock.”
Upon
conversion of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock, each
depositary share shall entitle the holder thereof to receive one share of common
stock and, upon the distribution of one share of common stock to the holder of
each such depositary share, each such depositary share shall be automatically
cancelled and have no further value. The depositary will distribute the shares
of common stock it receives upon conversion of the Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock to the holders of the depositary shares entitled to
receive such distribution in proportion to the number of outstanding depositary
shares held by each such holder, on the date of receipt or as soon as
practicable thereafter. No fractional shares of our common stock or
securities representing fractional shares of our common stock will be delivered
to holders of depositary shares. Any fractional interest in a share of our
common stock resulting from the proportional distribution of common stock
following the conversion of any shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock will be paid in cash based on the per share closing price (as
defined in the following sentence) of our common stock at the close of business
on the trading day next preceding the date of conversion. The “per share
closing price” of our common stock on any date means the closing sale price per
share (or if no closing price is reported, the average of the closing bid and
ask prices or, if more than one in either case, the average of the average
closing bid and the average closing ask prices) on such date as reported on The
Nasdaq Global Market (or such other principal national securities exchange on
which our common stock is then listed or authorized for quotation or, if not so
listed or authorized for quotation, the average of the midpoint of the last bid
and ask prices for our common stock on the relevant date from each of at least
three nationally recognized independent investment banking firms selected by us
for this purpose).
The
Conversion Rate shall be subject to certain customary anti-dilution adjustments
in the event of any dividend or other distribution payable in stock, stock
split, reverse split, certain other recapitalizations or similar transactions or
sales of common stock at a price below the rights price occurring after the date
of issuance of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock. In the event that the Conversion Rate of the Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock is adjusted, the one-for-one effective
conversion ratio of depositary shares for common stock shall be correspondingly
adjusted. For example, if the Conversion Rate were to double as a
result of a two-for-one stock split of our common stock, holders of depositary
shares would then be entitled to receive two shares of common stock (rather than
one) for each depositary share held.
In the
event of any consolidation, merger, combination or other transaction in which
our common stock is exchanged for or changed into other stock or securities,
cash or any other property, then in any such case the then outstanding shares of
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock shall at the same time be
similarly exchanged or changed, and the holders of the depositary shares shall
then be entitled to receive such other stock or securities, cash or any other
property in exchange for their depositary shares.
76
Voting
the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
When the
depositary receives notice of any meeting at which the holders of the Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock are entitled to vote, the depositary
will, as soon as practicable after receiving such notice, mail the information
contained in the notice to the holders of the depositary shares. Each
holder of depositary shares on the record date, which will be the same date as
the record date for the voting of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock, may instruct the depositary to vote the amount of the Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock represented by such holder’s depositary
shares. To the extent practicable, the depositary will vote the amount of
the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock represented by any
depositary shares in accordance with the voting instructions it receives (if
any) from holders of such depositary shares. If any holder of depositary
shares instructs the depositary to vote a fractional interest of a share of the
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock, the depositary will aggregate
such interest with all other fractional interests with the same voting
instruction and will submit the number of whole votes resulting from such
aggregation. We will take all reasonable action that the depositary
determines is necessary to enable the depositary to vote as instructed. If
the depositary does not receive specific instructions from the holders of any
depositary shares representing the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock, it will not vote such amount of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock represented by such depositary shares.
Withdrawal
Rights
The
holders of depositary shares will not have any rights to withdraw the shares of
the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock represented by such
depositary shares.
Redemption
The
depositary shares will not be redeemable.
Form
and Notices
The
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock will initially be issued in
registered form to the depositary, and the depositary shares will be issued in
book-entry only form through DTC, as described under “—Book-entry, Settlement
and Clearance.” The depositary will forward to the holders of
depositary shares all reports, notices and communications from us that are
delivered to the depositary and that we are required to furnish to the holders
of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock.
Amendment
and Termination of the Deposit Agreement
We and
the depositary may amend the form of depositary receipt evidencing the
depositary shares and any provision of the deposit agreement at any time.
However, any amendment which materially and adversely alters the rights of the
holders of the depositary shares will not be effective unless the amendment has
been approved by the holders of at least a majority of the depositary shares
then outstanding.
The
deposit agreement will terminate if there has been a final distribution in
respect of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock, including in
connection with the final conversion of all Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock for common stock or with our liquidation, dissolution or winding
up, and the conversion, repayment, redemption or distribution proceeds, as the
case may be, have been distributed to the holders of the depositary
shares.
77
Resignation
and Removal of the Depositary
The
depositary may resign at any time by delivering to us notice of its election to
do so. We also may, at any time, remove the depositary. Any
resignation or removal will take effect upon the appointment of a successor
depositary and its acceptance of such appointment. We must appoint the
successor depositary within 60 days after delivery of the notice of resignation
or removal.
Charges
of the Depositary
We will
pay all transfer and other taxes and governmental charges arising solely from
the existence of the depositary arrangements. We will pay charges of the
depositary in connection with the initial deposit of the Series A Non-Voting
Convertible Preferred Stock, the issuance of depositary shares, the conversion
of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock and the delivery of the
common stock received upon such conversion. You will pay transfer and
other taxes and governmental charges, as well as the other charges that are
expressly provided in the deposit agreement to be for your account.
Depositary
The
depositary for the depositary shares will be BNY Mellon Shareowner
Services.
Transfer
Agent and Registrar
The
transfer agent and registrar for the common stock and the depositary shares is
BNY Mellon Shareowner Services.
Listing
The
depositary shares will not be listed for trading on any stock exchange.
Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the development or liquidity
of any market for the depositary shares.
Book-entry,
Settlement and Clearance
The Global Security
The
depositary shares will be initially issued in the form of a single registered
security in global form (the “global security”). Upon issuance, the global
security will be deposited with the depositary as custodian for DTC and
registered in the name of Cede & Co., as nominee of DTC.
Ownership
of beneficial interests in the global security will be limited to persons who
have accounts with DTC (“DTC participants”) or persons who hold interests
through DTC participants. We expect that under procedures established by
DTC:
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·
|
upon
deposit of the global security with the depositary as DTC’s custodian, DTC
will credit portions of the global security to the accounts of the DTC
participants designated by the subscription agent;
and
|
|
·
|
ownership
of beneficial interests in the global security will be shown on, and
transfer of ownership of those interests will be effected only through,
records maintained by DTC (with respect to interests of DTC participants)
and the records of DTC participants (with respect to other owners of
beneficial interests in the global
security).
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78
Beneficial
interests in the global security may not be exchanged for securities in
physical, certificated form except in the limited circumstances described
below.
Book-entry Procedures for the Global
Security
All
interests in the global security will be subject to the operations and
procedures of DTC. We provide the following summary of those operations
and procedures solely for the convenience of investors. The operations and
procedures of DTC are controlled by that settlement system and may be changed at
any time. We are not responsible for those operations or
procedures.
DTC has
advised us that it is:
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·
|
a
limited purpose trust company organized under the laws of the State of New
York;
|
|
·
|
a
“banking organization” within the meaning of the New York State Banking
Law;
|
|
·
|
a
member of the Federal Reserve
System;
|
|
·
|
a
“clearing corporation” within the meaning of the Uniform Commercial Code;
and
|
|
·
|
a
“clearing agency” registered under Section 17A of the Exchange
Act.
|
DTC was
created to hold securities for its participants and to facilitate the clearance
and settlement of securities transactions between its participants through
electronic book-entry changes to the accounts of its participants. DTC’s
participants include securities brokers and dealers, banks and trust companies,
clearing corporations and other organizations. Investors who are not DTC
participants may beneficially own securities held by or on behalf of DTC only
through DTC participants or indirect participants in DTC.
So long
as DTC’s nominee is the registered owner of the global security, that nominee
will be considered the sole owner or holder of the depositary shares represented
by the global security for all purposes under the deposit agreement.
Except as provided below, owners of beneficial interests in the global
security:
|
·
|
will
not be entitled to have securities represented by the global security
registered in their names;
|
|
·
|
will
not receive or be entitled to receive physical, certificated securities;
and
|
|
·
|
will
not be considered the owners or holders of the securities under the
deposit agreement for any purpose, including with respect to the giving of
any direction, instruction or approval to the depositary under the deposit
agreement.
|
As a
result, each investor who owns a beneficial interest in the global security must
rely on the procedures of DTC to exercise any rights of a holder of securities
under the deposit agreement (and, if the investor is not a participant or an
indirect participant in DTC, on the procedures of the DTC participant through
which the investor owns its interest).
79
Payments
of dividends with respect to the depositary shares represented by the global
security will be made by the depositary to DTC’s nominee as the registered
holder of the global security. Neither we nor the depositary will have any
responsibility or liability for the payment of amounts to owners of beneficial
interests in the global security, for any aspect of the records relating to or
payments made on account of those interests by DTC or for maintaining,
supervising or reviewing any records of DTC relating to those beneficial
interests.
Payments
by participants and indirect participants in DTC to the owners of beneficial
interests in the global security will be governed by standing instructions and
customary industry practice and will be the responsibility of those DTC
participants or indirect participants and DTC.
Depositary
shares in physical, certificated form will be issued and delivered to each
person that DTC identifies as a beneficial owner of the depositary shares only
if:
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·
|
DTC
notifies us at any time that it is unwilling or unable to continue as
depositary for the global security and a successor depositary is not
appointed within 90 days; or
|
|
·
|
DTC
ceases to be registered as a clearing agency under the Exchange Act and a
successor depositary is not appointed within 90
days.
|
LLC
Membership Interests
Holders of membership interests in the
LLC do not have any voting rights in the LLC. They are, however, entitled
to pro rata economic benefits in the LLC, including the right to receive
authorized distributions, including distributions to fund tax liabilities.
Upon dissolution, liquidation or winding up of the LLC, after payment in full of
all amounts required to be paid to creditors, holders of membership interests
will be entitled to share in the remaining assets of the LLC available for
distribution. Holders of membership interests in the LLC (other than
BioFuel Energy Corp.) may exchange their membership interests for shares of our
common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to customary conversion rate
adjustments for stock splits, stock dividends and reclassifications.
Holders of membership interests (other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) also hold one
share of class B common stock for each membership interest held that entitles
the holder to the rights described under “—Common Stock—Class B Common Stock.”
LLC
Preferred Membership Interests; Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company
Agreement
Immediately prior to the consummation
of this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement, the LLC will
amend and restate its limited liability company agreement to add the preferred
membership interests as a new class of LLC membership interest.
Immediately following the consummation of the LLC’s concurrent private
placement, the holders of membership interests in the LLC (other than BioFuel
Energy Corp.) will be entitled to receive preferred membership interests in
amounts to be determined in accordance with their exercise of LLC basic purchase
privileges and LLC additional purchase privileges (and, in the case of the
Backstop Parties, determined in accordance with their exercise of the Backstop
Commitment for preferred membership interests). Immediately following the
consummation of this rights offering, BioFuel Energy Corp. will contribute all
proceeds of this rights offering to the LLC, and the LLC will issue to BioFuel
Energy Corp. a number of preferred membership interests equal to the number of
depositary shares that BioFuel Energy Corp. issued in this
rights offering.
80
The number of preferred membership
interests in the LLC held by BioFuel Energy Corp. shall at all times equal the
number of depositary shares outstanding. As a result, concurrent with the
making of the Cargill Stock Payment, the LLC will issue to BioFuel Energy Corp.
a number of preferred membership interests equal to the number of depositary
shares issued to Cargill in the Cargill Stock Payment.
Distributions
The preferred membership interests will
be entitled to pro rata distributions from the LLC, on an equivalent one-to-one
basis with the membership interests, including the right to receive authorized
distributions, including distributions to fund tax liabilities.
Automatic Conversion
Following the requisite stockholder
approval, all preferred membership interests will automatically convert into
membership interests and the holders of the preferred membership interests
(other than BioFuel Energy Corp.) will also receive one share of class B common
stock for each membership interest received upon conversion.
Liquidation
Preference
In the event of the voluntary or
involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the LLC, the holder of
each preferred membership interest will be entitled to receive and to be paid
out of the assets available for distribution to the members of the LLC, before
any payment or distribution is made to holders of the membership interests, a
liquidation preference per preferred membership interest in an amount equal to
$0.56. After payment of the full amount of the liquidation preference
to which they are entitled, the holders of the preferred membership interests
will have no right or claim to any of the LLC’s remaining assets in the event of
the LLC’s liquidation, dissolution or winding up.
Voting Rights
Holders of preferred membership
interests will generally not have any voting rights in the
LLC. However, the LLC will not, without the approval of the holders
of at least a majority of the preferred membership interests, (i) authorize or
issue additional preferred membership interests (provided that no such approval
shall be required in respect of any preferred membership interests to be
authorized and issued in connection with the Cargill Stock Payment) or (ii)
authorize or issue any other series of preferred interests which are senior or
on parity with respect to liquidation or dividend payments to the preferred
membership interests (provided that no such approval shall be required in
respect of any class B preferred membership interests to be authorized and
issued in connection with a LLC Backstop Reallocation).
Transfer
A holder of preferred membership
interests will not be permitted to transfer its preferred membership interests
except (i) in the case of an individual, to immediate family members or to
trusts or other entities in which all the beneficial interests are held by the
individual or immediate family members and (ii) in the case of entities, to
affiliates.
LLC
Class B Preferred Membership Interests
In
certain circumstances in connection with a LLC Backstop Reallocation, the LLC
will issue class B preferred membership interests to one or more of the Backstop
Parties. See “The Rights Offering—Rights Offering Letter
Agreement—Reduction by Backstop Parties” for a description of the circumstances
under which the class B preferred membership interests will be issued. The
class B preferred membership interests, if issued, would have the same terms as
the preferred membership interests (including as to conversion, distribution,
liquidation and other rights), except that, upon conversion of such class B
preferred membership interests, holders of such class B preferred membership
interests would receive membership interests in the LLC that would not be
exchangeable for shares of our common stock.
If any
class B preferred membership interests are issued, the LLC will amend and
restate its limited liability company agreement to add the class B preferred
membership interests as a new class of LLC membership interest and to provide
for the restriction on exchangeability of the membership interests in the LLC
that such holders of class B preferred membership interests would receive upon
conversion. Although
the membership interests issuable upon conversion of the
class B preferred membership interests will not
be exchangeable for shares of our common stock, our board of directors
and
the holders thereof may, in the future, agree to any such
exchange.
81
Anti-Takeover
Effects of Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Our certificate of incorporation and
bylaws contain certain provisions that are intended to enhance the likelihood of
continuity and stability in the composition of our board of directors.
These provisions may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a
future takeover or change in control of our company, even in those cases where
such a transaction may be at a premium to the current market price of our common
stock.
These provisions include:
Action
by Written Consent; Special Meetings of Stockholders
Our certificate of incorporation
provides that stockholder action (other than actions by holders of preferred
stock, if any) can be taken only at an annual or special meeting of stockholders
and cannot be taken by written consent in lieu of a meeting. Our bylaws
provide that, except as otherwise required by law, special meetings of the
stockholders can only be called by the chairman of the board, the chief
executive officer or the president, or pursuant to a resolution adopted by a
majority of the board of directors. Stockholders are not permitted to call
a special meeting or to require the board of directors to call a special
meeting.
Advance
Notice Procedures
Our bylaws establish an advance notice
procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of
our stockholders, including proposed nominations of candidates for election to
the board of directors. Stockholders at an annual meeting will be able to
consider only proposals or nominations specified in the notice of meeting or
brought before the meeting by or at the direction of the board of directors or
by a stockholder who was a stockholder of record on the record date for the
meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has given our secretary
timely written notice, in proper form, of the stockholder’s intention to bring
that business before the meeting. Although the bylaws do not give the
board of directors the power to approve or disapprove stockholder nominations of
candidates or proposals regarding other business to be conducted at a special or
annual meeting, the bylaws may have the effect of precluding the conduct of
certain business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed or may
discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of
proxies to elect its own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain
control of BioFuel Energy Corp.
Authorized
but Unissued Shares
Subject to Nasdaq listing requirements,
our authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock will be
available for future issuance without stockholder approval. These
additional shares may be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including
future public offerings to raise additional capital, corporate acquisitions and
employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of
common stock and preferred stock may also have the effect of deferring, delaying
or discouraging hostile takeovers, or changes in control or management of our
company.
82
Certain
Other Provisions of Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws and Delaware
Law
Board
of Directors
Our certificate of incorporation
provides that the number of directors will be fixed in the manner provided in
our bylaws. Our bylaws provide that the number of directors will be fixed
from time to time solely pursuant to a resolution adopted by the board.
Our board of directors currently has seven members.
Section
203 of Delaware Law
Our certificate of incorporation
expressly states that we have elected not to be subject to the provisions of
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Subject to exceptions
specified therein, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law prohibits
a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination”
with an “interested stockholder,” including general mergers or consolidations or
acquisitions of additional shares of the corporation, for a three-year period
following the time that such stockholder became an interested
stockholder.
Except as otherwise specified in
Section 203, an “interested stockholder” is defined to include:
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·
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any
person that is the owner of 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of
the corporation, or is an affiliate or associate of the corporation and
was the owner of 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the
corporation at any time within the three years immediately prior to the
date of determination; and
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·
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the
affiliates and associates of any such
person.
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The statute is intended to prohibit or
delay mergers or other takeover or change in control attempts. Although we
have elected to opt out of the statute’s provisions, we could elect to be
subject to Section 203 in the future.
83
Security
Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management
The
following tables set forth information with respect to the beneficial ownership
of our common stock and class B common stock as of November 12, 2010, by:
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·
|
each
person who is known by us to beneficially own 5% or more of any class of
our outstanding shares of common
stock;
|
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·
|
each
member of our board of directors who beneficially owns any class of shares
of our common stock;
|
|
·
|
each
of our executive officers; and
|
|
·
|
all
members of our board of directors and our executive officers as a
group.
|
Beneficial
ownership is determined in accordance with the SEC rules and includes voting or
investment power with respect to the securities. Unless otherwise indicated and
subject to applicable community property laws, to our knowledge, each
stockholder named in the following table possesses sole voting and investment
power over the shares listed, except for those jointly owned with that person’s
spouse.
Unless
otherwise indicated, the address for all beneficial owners is c/o BioFuel Energy
Corp., 1600 Broadway, Suite 2200, Denver, Colorado 80202. At the close of
business on November 12, 2010, there were 25,465,728 shares of common stock
outstanding, net of 809,606 shares held in treasury, and 7,111,985 shares of
class B common stock outstanding, which together constitute a total of
32,577,713 shares of outstanding voting shares of the Company. Each share of
common stock and class B common stock is entitled to one vote. The percentage of
common stock outstanding was determined based on 32,577,713 shares outstanding
at the record date. This table does not give effect to any changes that
may result from this rights offering or the LLC’s concurrent private
placement. It is possible that the beneficial ownership of Greenlight
Capital, Inc. and its affiliates and the Third Point Funds will increase as a
result of this rights offering and the LLC’s concurrent private placement.
Beneficial Owner
|
Number of
Shares of
Common
Stock
|
Number of
Shares of
Class B
Common
Stock
|
Options
Exercisable
|
Total
Number of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned
|
Percentage of
Common
Stock
Outstanding
|
|||||||||||||||
Greenlight
Capital, Inc. and its
affiliates
2
Grand Central Tower
140
East 45th Street, 24th floor
New
York, NY 10017 (1)
|
7,542,104 | 4,311,396 | — | 11,853,500 | 36.4 | % | ||||||||||||||
Third
Point Funds
390
Park Avenue, 18th floor
New
York, NY 10022 (2)
|
5,803,284 | — | — | 5,803,284 | 17.8 | % | ||||||||||||||
Cargill,
Incorporated
P.O.
Box 9300
Minneapolis,
MN 55440
|
1,675,596 | — | — | 1,675,596 | 5.1 | % | ||||||||||||||
Thomas
J. Edelman (3)
|
2,090,093 | 1,352,811 | — | 3,442,904 | 10.6 | % | ||||||||||||||
Scott
H. Pearce (4)
|
465,416 | 478,837 | 45,000 | 989,253 | 3.0 | % | ||||||||||||||
Kelly G. Maguire
(5)
|
42,000 | — | 70,500 | 112,500 | * | |||||||||||||||
Mark L. Zoeller
(6)
|
— | — | 21,000 | 21,000 | * | |||||||||||||||
Elizabeth
K. Blake (7)
|
7,500 | — | 15,000 | 22,500 | * | |||||||||||||||
David
Einhorn (8)
|
12,500 | — | 15,000 | 27,500 | * | |||||||||||||||
Richard
I. Jaffee (9)
|
7,500 | — | 15,000 | 22,500 | * | |||||||||||||||
John
D. March (10)
|
7,500 | — | 15,000 | 22,500 | * | |||||||||||||||
Mark
W. Wong (11)
|
7,500 | — | 135,000 | 142,500 | * | |||||||||||||||
All
Directors and Executive Officers as a group, 8 persons (12)
|
8,092,020 | 4,790,233 | 331,500 | 13,213,753 | 42.2 | % |
*
|
less
than 1%
|
84
(1)
|
Greenlight
Capital, Inc. (“Greenlight Inc.”) is the investment manager for Greenlight
Capital Offshore Partners, and as such has voting and dispositive power
over 5,221,530 shares of common stock held by Greenlight Capital Offshore
Partners. Greenlight Capital, L.L.C. (“Greenlight L.L.C.”) is the
sole general partner of Greenlight Capital, L.P. and Greenlight Capital
Qualified, L.P., and as such has voting and dispositive power over 574,226
shares of common stock and 3,885,970 shares of class B common stock held
by Greenlight Capital, L.P. and Greenlight Capital Qualified, L.P. DME
Advisors, LP (“DME Advisors”) is the investment manager for Greenlight
Reinsurance, Ltd., and as such has voting and dispositive power over
1,447,443 shares of common stock held by Greenlight Reinsurance,
Ltd. DME Management GP, LLC (“DME Management GP”) is the sole
general partner of Greenlight Capital (Gold), LP, and as such has voting
and dispositive power over 61,450 shares of common stock and 425,426
shares of class B common stock held by Greenlight Capital (Gold),
LP. DME Capital Management, LP (“DME Management”) is the investment
manager for Greenlight Capital (Gold), LP, and Greenlight Capital Offshore
Master (Gold), Ltd., and as such has voting and dispositive power over
298,905 shares of common stock and 425,426 shares of class B common stock
held by Greenlight Capital (Gold), LP and Greenlight Capital Offshore
Master (Gold), Ltd. DME Advisors GP, LLC (“DME GP”) is the general
partner of DME Advisors and DME Management, and as such has voting and
dispositive power over 1,746,348 shares of common stock and 425,426 shares
of class B common stock. David Einhorn, one of our directors, is the
principal of Greenlight Inc., Greenlight L.L.C., DME Advisors, DME
Management GP, DME Management and DME GP, and as such has sole voting and
sole dispositive power over 7,542,104 shares of common stock and 4,311,396
shares of class B common stock held by these affiliates of Greenlight,
Inc. Mr. Einhorn disclaims beneficial ownership of these shares, except to
the extent of any pecuniary interest
therein.
|
(2)
|
Includes
shares held of record by Third Point Offshore Master Fund, L.P., Third
Point Partners LP, Third Point Partners Qualified LP and Third Point Ultra
Master Fund L.P., which are investment funds managed by Third Point LLC,
and 224,484 shares held by an individual we believe to be affiliated with
Third Point LLC.
|
(3)
|
Includes
1,156,834 shares of class B common stock subject to forfeiture under the
True-Up Agreement described in our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule
14A filed with the SEC on April 6, 2010, and 93,534 shares of common stock
owned of record by Mr. Edelman’s wife, Ingrid O. Edelman, and trusts for
the benefit of Mr. Edelman’s family members, of which he is a trustee. Mr.
Edelman disclaims beneficial ownership of these shares of common stock,
except to the extent of any pecuniary interest
therein.
|
(4)
|
Includes
338,434 shares of class B common stock held in escrow and subject to
forfeiture under the True-Up Agreement described in our Definitive Proxy
Statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on April 6, 2010.
Includes options to purchase 45,000 shares of common stock granted to Mr.
Pearce under our compensation plan for
employees.
|
(5)
|
Includes
options to purchase 70,500 shares of common stock granted to Mr. Maguire
under our compensation program for
employees.
|
(6)
|
Includes
options to purchase 21,000 shares of common stock granted to Mr. Zoeller
under our compensation program for
employees.
|
85
(7)
|
Includes
7,500 shares of restricted common stock and options to purchase 15,000
shares of common stock granted to Ms. Blake under our compensation program
for non-employee directors.
|
(8)
|
Includes
12,500 shares of restricted common stock and options to purchase 15,000
shares of common stock granted to Mr. Einhorn under our compensation
program for non-employee directors. Includes only shares of common stock
held directly by Mr. Einhorn. See note
1.
|
(9)
|
Includes
7,500 shares of restricted common stock and options to purchase 15,000
shares of common stock granted to Mr. Jaffee under our compensation
program for non-employee directors.
|
(10)
|
Includes
7,500 shares of restricted common stock and options to purchase 15,000
shares of common stock granted to Mr. March under our compensation program
for non-employee directors.
|
(11)
|
Includes
7,500 shares of restricted common stock and options to purchase 135,000
shares of common stock granted to Mr. Wong under our compensation program
for non-employee directors.
|
(12)
|
Includes
shares held by Greenlight Capital, Inc., which is controlled by our
director, Mr. Einhorn.
|
86
Material
U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences
The following is a discussion of the
material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the receipt and exercise of the
right to subscribe for depositary shares representing fractional interests in
Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock (the “subscription rights”) by
holders of our common stock and of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of
our common stock (into which the depositary shares are effectively
convertible).
The
legal conclusions identified in this discussion are the opinion of our counsel,
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, and are based on the accuracy of the
representations of factual matters made by us.
This
discussion does not address the tax consequences to holders of membership
interests in BioFuel Energy, LLC of the LLC purchase privileges to purchase
preferred membership interests granted in connection with the LLC’s concurrent
private placement. This discussion does not purport to be a comprehensive
description of all of the tax considerations that may be relevant to a
particular holder’s ownership of subscription rights, depositary shares or
shares of our common stock. This discussion applies only to holders that
hold subscription rights, depositary shares and shares of our common stock as
capital assets for tax purposes and does not address all of the tax consequences
that may be relevant to holders subject to special rules, such as:
|
·
|
regulated
investment companies;
|
|
·
|
real
estate investment trusts;
|
|
·
|
certain
financial institutions;
|
|
·
|
dealers
and certain traders in securities or foreign
currencies;
|
|
·
|
insurance
companies;
|
|
·
|
persons
holding subscription rights, depositary shares and shares of our common
stock as part of a hedge, straddle, conversion transaction or integrated
transaction;
|
|
·
|
persons
whose “functional currency” is not the U.S.
dollar;
|
|
·
|
persons
liable for the alternative minimum
tax;
|
|
·
|
tax-exempt
organizations; and
|
|
·
|
persons
holding subscription rights, depositary shares and shares of our common
stock that own or are deemed to own 10% or more of our voting
shares.
|
This discussion is based upon the tax
laws of the United States including the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended to the date hereof (the “Code”), administrative pronouncements, judicial
decisions and final, temporary and proposed Treasury regulations, as of the date
hereof. These laws are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect. The
discussion does not address U.S. state, local and non-U.S. tax
consequences.
If a partnership holds the subscription
rights, depositary shares or shares of our common stock, the U.S. federal income
tax treatment of a partner will generally depend on the status of the partner
and the tax treatment of the partnership. A partner in a partnership holding
subscription rights, depositary shares or shares of our common stock is urged to
consult its own tax advisor with regard to the U.S. federal income tax treatment
of its investment.
87
YOU ARE
URGED TO CONSULT YOUR OWN TAX ADVISOR REGARDING THE SPECIFIC FEDERAL, STATE,
LOCAL AND FOREIGN INCOME AND OTHER TAX CONSIDERATIONS OF THE RECEIPT AND
EXERCISE OF THE SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS AND THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND
DISPOSITION OF OUR COMMON STOCK.
For U.S. federal income tax purposes,
holders of the depositary shares will generally be treated as the owners of the
underlying shares of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock.
TAX
CONSEQUENCES TO U.S. HOLDERS
The following section
applies to you only if you are a “U.S. holder.” For this purpose, a “U.S.
holder” means a beneficial owner of subscription rights, depositary
shares or shares of our common stock (other than an entity or arrangement that
is treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) that is, for
U.S. federal income tax purposes:
|
·
|
a
citizen or resident of the United
States;
|
|
·
|
a
corporation, or other entity taxable as a corporation, created or
organized in or under the laws of the United States or any political
subdivision thereof; or
|
|
·
|
an
estate or trust the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income
taxation regardless of its
source.
|
Taxation
of the Subscription Rights
This discussion assumes that the
depositary who holds Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock (which is
automatically convertible into shares of our common stock) on your behalf is
acting as your agent for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Receipt of the Subscription
Rights
Although
the authorities governing transactions such as this rights offering are complex
and do not speak directly to the consequences of certain aspects of this rights
offering, including, for example, the effects of the over-subscription
privilege, the LLC’s concurrent private placement and the Backstop Commitment,
it is the opinion of our counsel, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, that the
receipt of the subscription rights in connection with this rights offering
should be treated as a nontaxable stock distribution with respect to our common
stock (the “Original Shares”) for U.S. federal income tax
purposes. The remainder of this discussion assumes that the receipt
of the subscription rights is treated as a nontaxable stock distribution for
U.S. federal income tax purposes.
If the fair market value of the
subscription rights you receive is less than 15% of the fair market value of
your Original Shares (with respect to which the subscription rights are
distributed) on the date you receive the subscription rights, your subscription
rights will be allocated a zero basis for U.S. federal income tax purposes
unless you affirmatively elect to allocate your basis in the Original Shares
between your Original Shares and your subscription rights in proportion to their
relative fair market values determined on the date you receive the subscription
rights. This election must be made in the tax return for the taxable
year in which the subscription rights are received. On the other
hand, if the fair market value of the subscription rights received is 15% or
greater than the fair market value of your Original Shares (with respect to
which the subscription rights are distributed) on the date you receive your
subscription rights, then your basis in your Original Shares will be allocated
between your Original Shares and the subscription rights in proportion to their
relative fair market values determined on the date you receive the subscription
rights.
88
Exercise of the Subscription
Rights
It is
the opinion of our counsel, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, that the exercise
of the subscription rights by or on behalf of you will not be a taxable
transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Your tax basis in
the new shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock acquired upon
exercise of the subscription rights will equal the sum of the price paid for the
new shares and your tax basis (as determined above), if any, in the subscription
rights you exercised. The holding period of the new shares of Series
A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock will begin on the day the subscription
rights are exercised.
Expiration of the Subscription
Rights
It is
the opinion of our counsel, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, that in the event
that you allow your subscription rights to expire without exercising them, the
tax basis in your Original Shares will be equal to their tax basis immediately
before your receipt of the subscription rights (and, accordingly, the tax basis
in your subscription rights will be deemed to be zero) and, therefore, you will
not recognize any loss upon the expiration of the subscription
rights. If the subscription rights expire without exercise after you
have disposed of all or a portion of your Original Shares, you should consult
your own tax advisor regarding the ability to recognize a loss (if any) on the
expiration of the subscription rights.
Conversion
of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock into Common
Stock
It is
the opinion of our counsel, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, that the automatic
conversion of your shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
into shares of our common stock will generally not be a taxable transaction for
U.S. federal income tax purposes. Your tax basis in the new shares of
common stock received upon conversion will equal your aggregate tax basis (as
determined above) in the shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock converted. The holding period of the new shares of common stock
you receive upon conversion will equal your holding period (as determined above)
in the shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
converted.
Taxation
of Our Common Stock
Distributions on Our Common
Stock
Any distributions of cash or property
made with respect to our common stock generally must be included in your income
as ordinary dividend income to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated
earnings and profits (“E&P”) as determined for U.S. federal income tax
purposes. To the extent that the amount of any distribution exceeds our
E&P, those excess amounts will be treated first as a tax-free return of
capital to the extent of your adjusted tax basis in your shares of our common
stock and, thereafter, as capital gain.
Sale or other Disposition of Our Common
Stock
Gain or loss realized by you on the
sale or other taxable disposition of shares of our common stock will be subject
to U.S. federal income tax as capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the
difference between your adjusted tax basis in your shares of our common stock
and your amount realized on the disposition. Gain or loss will be
long-term capital gain or loss if you held our common stock for more than one
year. If you
are an individual who holds our common stock for more than one year, you may be
eligible to be taxed at reduced rates. The deductibility of capital losses
is subject to limitations.
89
Information
Reporting and Backup Withholding
Payments of dividends on our common
stock, and the proceeds from a sale or other disposition of our common stock may
be subject to information reporting and to backup withholding unless you are an
exempt recipient or, in the case of backup withholding, you provide a correct
taxpayer identification number and certify that no loss of exemption from backup
withholding has occurred. The amount of any backup withholding will generally be
allowed as a refund or credit against your U.S. federal income tax liability,
provided that the required information is timely furnished to the
IRS.
TAX
CONSEQUENCES TO NON-U.S. HOLDERS
This section applies to
you if you are a “non-U.S. holder.” A “non-U.S. holder” is any
beneficial owner of subscription rights, depositary shares or shares of
our common stock (other than an entity or arrangement that is treated as a
partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) that is not a U.S.
holder.
Taxation
of the Subscription Rights and Our Common Stock
This discussion assumes that the
depositary who holds Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock (which is
automatically convertible into shares of our common stock) on your behalf is
acting as your agent for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Receipt, Exercise and Expiration of the
Subscription Rights
Although
the authorities governing transactions such as this rights offering are complex
and do not speak directly to the consequences of certain aspects of this rights
offering, including, for example, the effects of the over-subscription
privilege, the LLC’s concurrent private placement and the Backstop Commitment,
it is the opinion of our counsel, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, that the
receipt of the subscription rights in connection with this rights offering
should be treated as a nontaxable stock distribution with respect to the
Original Shares for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The remainder
of this discussion assumes that the receipt of the subscription rights is
treated as a nontaxable stock distribution for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
It is
the opinion of our counsel, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, that you will not
be subject to U.S. federal income tax (or any withholding thereof) on the
exercise or expiration of the subscription rights.
Sale or other Disposition of Our Common
Stock
In general, you will not be subject to
U.S. federal income tax (or any withholding thereof) on any gain realized on a
sale of our common stock by you unless:
|
·
|
the
gain is effectively connected with your conduct of a trade or business
within the United States (and, if an income tax treaty applies, is
attributable to a United States permanent
establishment);
|
|
·
|
you
are an individual, you hold your shares of common stock as capital assets,
you are present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable
year of disposition and you meet other conditions;
or
|
|
·
|
we
are or have been a “United States real property holding corporation” for
U.S. federal income tax purposes and you hold or have held, directly or
indirectly, at any time within the shorter of the five-year period
preceding disposition or your holding period for the subscription rights,
more than 5% of our common stock (including subscription rights for our
common stock).
|
Gain that is effectively connected with
your conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if an income
tax treaty applies, is attributable to a United States permanent establishment)
generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax, net of certain deductions,
at the same rates applicable to U.S. persons. If you are a corporation, a
“branch profits tax” of 30% (or a lower rate prescribed in an applicable income
tax treaty) also may apply to such effectively connected gain.
90
A domestic corporation is treated as a
“United States real property holding corporation” if the fair market value of
its United States real property interests equals or exceeds 50% of the sum of
(1) the fair market value of its United States real property interests, (2) the
fair market value of its non-United States real property interests and (3) the
fair market value of any other of its assets which are used or held for use in a
trade or business. It is unclear whether the Company currently is or has
been a “United States real property holding corporation” within the relevant
testing period. If we are or were a “United States real property holding
corporation” and you are a non-U.S. holder that holds, or has held, directly or
indirectly, at any time within the relevant testing period, more than 5% of our
common stock (including subscription rights for our common stock), then you will
generally be subject to U.S. income tax on your gain recognized upon a sale or
other disposition of your shares of our common stock. In addition, a buyer of
your shares of our common stock will generally be required to withhold U.S.
income tax at a rate of 10% of the sales price. You are urged to consult
your own tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax considerations of
holding, directly or indirectly, more than 5% of our shares of common
stock.
Distributions on Our Common
Stock
Any distributions of cash
or property made with respect to our common stock generally will be subject to
withholding tax to the extent paid out of our E&P, if any, at a rate of 30%
(or a lower rate prescribed in an applicable income tax treaty). In
order to obtain a reduced withholding tax rate, if applicable, you will be
required to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN certifying your entitlement to benefits
under a treaty. In addition, you will not be subject to withholding tax if you
provide an IRS Form W-8ECI certifying that the distributions are effectively connected with
your conduct of a trade or business within the United States; instead,
you will be taxed as described under “—TAX CONSEQUENCES TO NON-U.S.
HOLDERS—Sale or
other Disposition of Our Common Stock” above.
Information
Reporting and Backup Withholding
Payments of dividends (including any
withholding thereof) on our common stock will generally be subject to
information reporting. Unless you comply with certification procedures to
establish that you are not a U.S. person, information reporting may apply to the
proceeds from a sale or other disposition of our common stock and you may be
subject to U.S. backup withholding tax on payments of dividends or the proceeds
from a sale or other disposition of our common stock. The amount of any
backup withholding will generally be allowed as a refund or credit against your
U.S. federal income tax liability, provided that the required information is
timely furnished to the IRS.
ADDITIONAL
WITHHOLDING REQUIREMENTS
Under recently-enacted legislation, the
relevant withholding agent may be required to withhold 30% of any dividends and
the proceeds of a sale or other disposition of our common stock paid after
December 31, 2012 to (i) a foreign financial institution unless such foreign
financial institution agrees to verify, report and disclose its U.S. account
holders and meets certain other requirements or (ii) a non-financial foreign
entity that is the beneficial owner of the payment unless such entity certifies
that it does not have any substantial United States owners or provides the name,
address and taxpayer identification number of each substantial United States
owner and such entity meets certain other requirements.
91
Plan
of Distribution
On or
about December 27, 2010, we will distribute the subscription rights and rights
certificates to individuals who owned shares of our common stock as of 5:00
p.m., New York City time, on December 27, 2010, the record
date.
If you
wish to exercise your subscription rights and purchase depositary shares, you
should complete the rights certificate and return it with payment for the
depositary shares to the subscription agent, BNY Mellon Shareowner Services, at
the following address:
By Mail:
|
By Hand or Overnight
Courier:
|
BNY
Mellon Shareowner Services
|
BNY
Mellon Shareowner Services
|
Attn: Corporate
Actions Dept.
|
Attn: Corporate
Actions, 27th Floor
|
P.O.
Box 3301
|
480
Washington Blvd
|
South
Hackensack, NJ 07606
|
Jersey
City,
NJ 07310
|
See “The
Rights Offering—Method of Exercising Subscription Rights.” If you
have any questions, you should contact the information agent, Okapi Partners
LLC, at (877) 869-0171 or by e-mail at info@okapipartners.com.
Other
than the Rights Offering Letter Agreement as described herein, we do not know of
any existing agreements between or among any stockholder, broker, dealer,
underwriter or agent relating to the sale or distribution of the depositary
shares, the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock which the depositary
shares represent fractional interests in or the common stock issuable upon
conversion of the Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock and depositary
shares.
Legal
Matters
The
validity of the securities issued in this offering and the material U.S. federal
income tax consequences of the receipt, exercise and expiration of the
subscription rights issued in this offering will be passed upon for us by
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, New York, NY.
Experts
The
audited consolidated financial statements and schedule incorporated by reference
in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement have been so
incorporated in reliance upon the report of Grant Thornton LLP, independent
registered public accountants, upon the authority of said firm as experts in
accounting and auditing in giving said report.
Incorporation
by Reference
We are
“incorporating by reference” into this prospectus specific documents that we
have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) which means
that we are disclosing important information to you by referring you to those
documents that are considered part of this prospectus. We incorporate by
reference the documents listed below. We are not, however, incorporating
by reference any documents or portions thereof that are not deemed “filed” with
the SEC, including any information “furnished” pursuant to Item 2.02 or 7.01 of
any Current Report on Form 8-K.
92
We are
incorporating by reference into this prospectus the following documents filed
with the SEC:
|
·
|
Annual
report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 filed with the
SEC on March 30, 2010;
|
|
·
|
Quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 filed with the
SEC on May 14, 2010, for the quarter ended June 30, 2010 filed with the
SEC on August 16, 2010 and for the quarter ended September 30, 2010 filed
with the SEC on November 12, 2010;
|
|
·
|
Current
reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 6, 2010, May 25, 2010,
June 3, 2010, July 15, 2010, September 3, 2010, September 27, 2010,
September 30, 2010 and November 24, 2010; and
|
|
·
|
Definitive
proxy statement on Schedule 14A filed with the SEC on April 6,
2010.
|
You may
obtain a copy of any or all of the reports or documents that have been
incorporated by reference into this registration statement but not delivered
with this prospectus at no cost by writing or telephoning us at the following
address:
BioFuel
Energy Corp.
Attention: Corporate
Secretary
1600
Broadway, Suite 2200
Denver,
Colorado 80202
Telephone:
(303) 640-6500
Any
statements contained in a document incorporated by reference into this
prospectus shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this
prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus (or in
any other subsequently filed document which also is incorporated by reference
into this prospectus) modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so
modified or superseded shall not be deemed to constitute a part of this
prospectus except as so modified or superseded.
This
prospectus or information incorporated by reference herein contains summaries of
certain agreements that we have filed as exhibits to our various SEC filings, as
well as certain agreements that we will enter into in connection with this
offering. The descriptions of these agreements contained in this
prospectus or information incorporated by reference herein are summaries of the
material terms of the definitive agreements. Copies of the definitive
agreements will be made available without charge to you by making a written or
oral request to us in the manner specified above.
Where
You Can Find More Information
We make
periodic filings and other filings required to be filed by us as a reporting
company under Sections 13 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act. You may read and copy
any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F
Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the
operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In
addition, the SEC maintains an Internet site at www.sec.gov that contains the
reports, proxy and information statements, and other information that we file
electronically with the SEC.
We
maintain an Internet site at www.bfenergy.com. Our website, and the information
contained on or connected to that site, is not incorporated into this
prospectus, and you should not rely on any such information in making your
decision whether to purchase securities. You can find a link to our
periodic filings and other filings required to be filed by us as a reporting
company with the SEC on our website at the following URL: www.bfenergy.com/investment.html.
93
You may
refer any questions regarding this rights offering to Okapi Partners LLC, the
information agent:
Okapi
Partners LLC
437
Madison Avenue, 28th Floor
New York,
New York 10022
Banks and
brokerage firms: (212) 297-0720
Stockholders
and all others, toll-free: (877) 869-0171
Email: info@okapipartners.com
94
BioFuel
Energy Corp.
Subscription
Rights, Depositary Shares, Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock and
Common Stock
Prospectus
,
2010
Part
II
Information
Not Required in Prospectus
Item
13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution
The
following table sets forth the costs and expenses to be paid by us in connection
with the offering of securities described in this registration statement.
All amounts are estimates except for the SEC registration fee.
Amount to be Paid
|
||||
SEC
registration fee
|
$ |
1,284
|
||
Accounting
fees and expenses
|
100,000 | |||
Subscription
agent and information agent fees and expenses
|
25,000 | |||
Depositary,
transfer agent and registrar fees and expenses
|
50,000 | |||
Legal
fees and expenses
|
2,300,000 | |||
Miscellaneous
expenses
|
623,716 | |||
Total
|
$ | 3,100,000 |
Item
14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers
Our
certificate of incorporation generally provides that we will indemnify our
directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Section
145(a) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) provides in relevant
part that a corporation may indemnify any officer or director who was or is a
party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or
completed action, suit or proceeding (other than an action by or in the right of
the corporation) by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or
officer of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the
corporation as a director or officer of another entity, against expenses
(including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement
actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action,
suit or proceeding if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such
person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the
corporation and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no
reasonable cause to believe such person’s conduct was unlawful.
Section
145(b) of the DGCL provides in relevant part that a corporation may indemnify
any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any
threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the
corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that the
person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or
is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer,
employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or
other enterprise against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and
reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the defense or settlement
of such action or suit if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the
person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the
corporation and except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any
claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be
liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of
Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine
upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all
the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to
indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court
shall deem proper.
II-1
Our
certificate of incorporation also provides for the limitation of liability set
forth in Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL, which permits a corporation to provide
in its certificate of incorporation that a director of the corporation shall not
be personally liable to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages
for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability (i) for any
breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders,
(ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional
misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) for unlawful payments of
dividends or unlawful stock repurchases, redemptions or other distributions or
(iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal
benefit.
We have
obtained officers’ and directors’ liability insurance which insures against
liabilities that officers and directors of the registrant may, in such
capacities, incur. Section 145(g) of the DGCL provides that a corporation
shall have power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who
is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or
was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee
or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other
enterprise against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by
such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as
such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify such
person against such liability under that section.
The
employment agreements of Mr. Pearce and Mr. Maguire provide for indemnification
to the fullest extent permitted by law against any claims or judgments that
result by reason of employment with us. In addition, during the term of
employment of each of Mr. Pearce and Mr. Maguire, and for a period of three
years following employment, we must maintain officers’ and directors’ liability
insurance for each of Mr. Pearce and Mr. Maguire at least equal to the coverage
that we provide for any other present or former senior executive or
director. The severance agreement of Mr. Simon provides for
indemnification as though he continued his employment with us. In
addition, for a period of three years after June 30, 2010, we must maintain
directors’ and officers’ liability insurance for Mr. Simon at least equal to the
coverage that we provide for any other present or former senior executive or
director.
Item
15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
The sales
of the securities of the registrant listed below were not registered under the
Securities Act because they were sold in transactions exempt from registration
pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Securities Act.
Warrants
under Bridge Loan Agreement
On
September 24, 2010, we entered into a loan agreement (which we refer to as the
“Bridge Loan Agreement”) with Greenlight Capital, LP, Greenlight Capital
Qualified, LP, Greenlight Capital (Gold), LP, Greenlight Capital Offshore
Partners, Greenlight Capital Offshore Master (Gold), Ltd., Greenlight
Reinsurance, Ltd. (which we refer to collectively as the “Greenlight Parties”)
and Third Point Loan LLC (which we refer to as “Third Point” and, together with
the Greenlight Parties, as the “Backstop Parties”) and Greenlight APE, LLC, as
administrative agent, pursuant to which we borrowed $19,420,620 (which we refer
to as the “Bridge Loan”). The Bridge Loan matures on March 24, 2011, and
in the event the Bridge Loan is not paid in full on or before that date, the
Bridge Loan Agreement provides that we will issue warrants to the Backstop
Parties exercisable at an exercise price of $0.01 per share for an aggregate of
15% of our common stock on a fully diluted basis as of the date the warrants are
issued. A form of warrant is included in the Bridge Loan Agreement, which is
included as Exhibit 10.26 to this registration statement.
Cargill
Stock Payment
On
September 23, 2010, we entered into a letter agreement with Cargill,
Incorporated (“Cargill”), Cargill Commodity Services, Inc., BFE Operating
Company, LLC, Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC and Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC (which we
refer to as the “Cargill Letter”).
II-2
We and
Cargill agreed in the Cargill Letter that upon completion of this rights
offering (i) we will pay Cargill $2,800,829 (which we refer to as the “Cargill
Cash Payment”) pursuant to the terms of the agreement dated January 14, 2009 by
and between us and Cargill (which we refer to as the “Settlement Agreement”)
and, as contemplated by the Settlement Agreement, Cargill will forgive a like
amount of the payable under the Settlement Agreement and (ii) upon receipt of
the Cargill Cash Payment, Cargill will forgive the remaining payable under the
Settlement Agreement in exchange for depositary shares in an amount equal to
approximately $6,000,000 (which we refer to as the “Cargill Stock Payment”).
The
depositary shares that will make up the Cargill Stock Payment will be issued to
Cargill on the 12th business day following the consummation of this rights
offering and will be valued at a per share price equal to the average of the
volume weighted averages of the trading prices of our common stock, as such
prices are reported on The Nasdaq Global Market, for the 10 consecutive trading
days ending on the second trading day immediately preceding the date such
depositary shares are issued to Cargill. The depositary shares to be
issued to Cargill will therefore be issued after the depositary shares that will
be issued upon expiration of this rights offering but will have the same rights
and preferences as the depositary shares that will be issued upon expiration of
this rights offering. The depositary shares to be issued to Cargill are
not being registered or sold in this rights offering. In order to issue
the depositary shares that will make up the Cargill Stock Payment, we expect to
issue and deposit with the depositary a number of additional shares of Series A
Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock that corresponds to the aggregate
fractional interests in shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred
Stock that the newly issued depositary shares represent. In the event that
an insufficient number of authorized shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible
Preferred Stock are available for such issuance and deposit with the depositary,
we expect to establish an alternative method for satisfying the Cargill Stock
Payment that is satisfactory to us, Cargill and the Backstop
Parties.
Basic
Commitment and Backstop Commitment
In
connection with the Bridge Loan Agreement, on September 24, 2010, we entered
into a Rights Offering Letter Agreement with the Backstop Parties, which was
subsequently amended and restated in its entirety by the Amended and Restated
Rights Offering Letter Agreement entered into with the Backstop Parties and
dated as of December 14, 2010 (which we refer to as the “Rights Offering Letter
Agreement”).
Subject
to the terms and conditions set forth in the Rights Offering Letter Agreement,
as amended, the Backstop Parties have agreed to (i) purchase depositary shares
in an amount equal to their full basic subscription privilege (which we refer to
as the “Basic Commitment”) and (ii) purchase immediately prior to expiration of
this rights offering all of the available depositary shares not otherwise sold
in this rights offering following the exercise of all other holders’ basic
subscription privileges and over-subscription privileges (which we refer to as
the “Backstop Commitment”). The price per depositary share paid by
the Backstop Parties pursuant to the Basic Commitment and the Backstop
Commitment will be equal to the price paid by the other holders in this rights
offering. Any depositary shares purchased by the Backstop Parties
pursuant to the Basic Commitment or the Backstop Commitment will be purchased
directly from us on a private basis and are not being registered pursuant to
this registration statement.
Item
16. Exhibits
(a)
Exhibits
Number
|
Description
|
|
3.1
|
Amended
and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of BioFuel Energy Corp.
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s
Form 8-K filed June 19,
2007)
|
II-3
Number
|
Description
|
|
3.2
|
Amended
and Restated Bylaws of BioFuel Energy Corp. dated March 20, 2009
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s
Form 8-K filed March 23, 2009)
|
|
4.1
|
Specimen
Common Stock Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to
the Company’s Amendment #3 to Registration Statement on
Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed April 23, 2007)
|
|
4.2
|
Specimen
Certificate for Shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
**
|
|
4.3
|
Certificate
of Designations of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
**
|
|
4.4
|
Form
of Rights Certificate **
|
|
4.5
|
Form
of Depositary Receipt *
|
|
4.6
|
Form
of Deposit Agreement *
|
|
5.1
|
Opinion
of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP regarding validity of the securities
being issued *
|
|
8.1
|
Opinion
of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP regarding certain tax matters
*
|
|
10.1
|
Second
Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of BioFuel
Energy, LLC dated June 19, 2007 (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed August 14,
2007)
|
|
10.2
|
Form
of Third Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of
BioFuel Energy, LLC **
|
|
10.3
|
Credit
Agreement dated September 25, 2006, among BFE Operating
Company, LLC, Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC and Pioneer Trail
Energy, LLC, as borrowers, BFE Operating Company, LLC, as
borrowers’ agent, various financial institutions from time to time, as
lenders, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as collateral agent, and
BNP Paribas, as administrative agent and arranger
**
|
|
10.4
|
Waiver
and Amendment dated September 29, 2009, to the Credit Agreement dated
September 25, 2006 and Collateral Account Agreement dated September 25,
2006 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current
Report on Form 8-K filed September 30, 2009)
|
|
10.5
|
Collateral
Account Agreement dated September 25, 2006, among BFE Operating
Company, LLC, Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC, Pioneer Trail
Energy, LLC, as borrowers, BFE Operating Company, LLC, as
borrowers’ agent, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as collateral
agent, and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as depositary agent and
securities intermediary (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to
the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1
(file no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.6
|
Registration
Rights Agreement between BioFuel Energy Corp. and the parties listed on
the signature page thereto dated June 19, 2007 (incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed
August 14, 2007)
|
|
10.7
|
Form
of Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement between BioFuel
Energy Corp. and the parties listed on the signature page thereto
*
|
|
10.8
|
Ethanol
Marketing Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill,
Incorporated and Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
II-4
Number
|
Description
|
|
10.9
|
Ethanol
Marketing Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill,
Incorporated and Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.10
|
Distillers
Grains Marketing Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill,
Incorporated and Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.11
|
Distillers
Grains Marketing Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill,
Incorporated and Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.8 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.12
|
Corn
Supply Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill,
Incorporated and Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.9 to the Company’s Amendment #5 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed May 15,
2007)
|
|
10.13
|
Corn
Supply Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill,
Incorporated and Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.10 to the Company’s Amendment #5 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed May 15,
2007)
|
|
10.14
|
Executive
Employment Agreement dated April 28, 2006, between BioFuel
Energy, LLC and Scott H. Pearce (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.11 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.15
|
Executive
Employment Agreement dated April 28, 2006, between BioFuel
Energy, LLC and Daniel J. Simon (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.12 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.16
|
Written
Terms of Employment dated March 9, 2010 between BioFuel Energy Corp. and
Daniel J. Simon (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the
Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed April 1, 2010)
|
|
10.17
|
Executive
Severance, Release and Waiver Agreement dated June 2, 2010 between BioFuel
Energy Corp. and Daniel J. Simon (incorporated by reference to Exhibit
10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed June 3, 2010)
|
|
10.18
|
Engineering,
Procurement and Construction Agreement dated April 28, 2006, between
Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC and TIC-The Industrial Company
Wyoming, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.13 to the
Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1
(file no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.19
|
First
Amendment to the Engineering, Procurement and Construction Agreement
between Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC and TIC-The Industrial Company
Wyoming, Inc., dated August 28, 2006 (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.13.1 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
II-5
Number
|
Description
|
|
10.20
|
Engineering,
Procurement and Construction Agreement dated June 9, 2006, between
Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC and TIC-The Industrial Company
Wyoming, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.14 to the
Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1
(file no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.21
|
Master
Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill, Incorporated and
Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.15 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.22
|
Master
Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill, Incorporated and
Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.16 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.23
|
Grain
Facility Lease dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill,
Incorporated and Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.17 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.24
|
Grain
Facility Lease and Sublease dated September 25, 2006, between
Cargill, Incorporated and Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC (incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 10.18 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to
Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.25
|
Cargill
Direct Futures Advisory Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between
Cargill Commodity Services Inc. and Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.26
|
Cargill
Direct Futures Advisory Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between
Cargill Commodity Services Inc. and Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.20 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.27
|
Loan
Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between BioFuel Energy, LLC,
the lenders party thereto and Greenlight APE, LLC, as administrative
agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.21 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.28
|
Loan
Agreement dated as of September 24, 2010, by and among BioFuel Energy
Corp., Greenlight Capital, LP, Greenlight Capital Qualified, LP,
Greenlight Capital (Gold), LP, Greenlight Capital Offshore Partners,
Greenlight Capital Offshore Master (Gold), Ltd., Greenlight Reinsurance,
Ltd. and Third Point Loan LLC and Greenlight APE, LLC, as administrative
agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current
Report on Form 8-K filed September 27, 2010)
|
|
10.29
|
Rights
Offering Letter Agreement dated as of September 24, 2010, by and among
BioFuel Energy Corp., Greenlight Capital, LP, Greenlight Capital
Qualified, LP, Greenlight Capital (Gold), LP, Greenlight Capital Offshore
Partners, Greenlight Capital Offshore Master (Gold), Ltd., Greenlight
Reinsurance, Ltd. and Third Point Loan LLC (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed September
27, 2010)
|
II-6
Number
|
Description
|
|
10.30
|
Form
of Amended and Restated Rights Offering Letter Agreement by and among the
registrant, BioFuel Energy, LLC, Greenlight Capital, LP, Greenlight
Capital Qualified, LP, Greenlight Capital (Gold), LP, Greenlight Capital
Offshore Partners, Greenlight Capital Offshore Master (Gold), Ltd.,
Greenlight Reinsurance, Ltd., Third Point Loan LLC and Third Point
Advisors, LLC **
|
|
10.31
|
Voting
Agreement dated as of September 24, 2010 by Greenlight Capital, LP,
Greenlight Capital Qualified, LP, Greenlight Capital (Gold), LP,
Greenlight Capital Offshore Partners, Greenlight Capital Offshore Master
(Gold), Ltd. and Greenlight Reinsurance, Ltd. (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed
September 27, 2010)
|
|
10.32
|
Voting
Agreement dated as of September 24, 2010 by Third Point Loan LLC
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Current Report
on Form 8-K filed September 27, 2010)
|
|
10.33
|
Form
of Amended and Restated Voting Agreement between BioFuel Energy Corp. and
Greenlight Capital, LP, Greenlight Capital Qualified, LP, Greenlight
Capital (Gold), LP, Greenlight Capital Offshore Partners, Greenlight
Capital Offshore Master (Gold), Ltd. and Greenlight Reinsurance, Ltd.
**
|
|
10.34
|
Form
of Amended and Restated Voting Agreement between BioFuel Energy Corp. and
Third Point Loan LLC **
|
|
10.35
|
Letter
Agreement dated as of September 23, 2010, by and among BioFuel Energy
Corp., BFE Operating Company, LLC, Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC, Buffalo Lake
Energy, LLC, Cargill, Incorporated and Cargill Commodity Services, Inc.
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Current Report
on Form 8-K filed September 27, 2010) #
|
|
10.36
|
Waiver
Letter, dated September 24, 2010, by Scott H. Pearce, President and Chief
Executive Officer, Kelly G. Maguire, Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer, Doug Anderson, Vice President of Operations, and Mark
Zoeller, Vice President and General Counsel (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report filed September 30, 2010)
|
|
10.37
|
BioFuel
Energy, LLC Deferred Compensation Plan for Select Employees
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.22 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.38
|
BioFuel
Energy Amended and Restated Deferred Compensation Plan for Select
Employees (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.22.1 to the Company’s
Annual Report on Form 10-K filed March 12, 2008)
|
|
10.39
|
BioFuel
Energy, LLC Change of Control Plan (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.23 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.40
|
BioFuel
Energy Corp 2007 Equity Incentive Compensation Plan (incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 10.24 to the Company’s Amendment #3 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed April 23, 2007)
|
|
10.41
|
BioFuel
Energy, LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Prototype Plan Document
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.25 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.42
|
Amendment
to BioFuel Energy, LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Prototype Plan Document
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.25.1 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.43
|
Amendment
to BioFuel Energy, LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Prototype Plan Document
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.25.2 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
II-7
Number
|
Description
|
|
10.44
|
Addendum
to BioFuel Energy, LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Prototype Plan Document
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.25.3 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.45
|
BioFuel
Energy, LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Adoption Agreement
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.26 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.46
|
Addendum
to BioFuel Energy, LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Adoption Agreement
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.26.1 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.47
|
Tax
Benefit Sharing Agreement between BioFuel Energy Corp. and the parties
listed on the signature page thereto dated June 19, 2007
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s
Form 10-Q filed August 14, 2007)
|
|
10.48
|
License
Agreement dated June 9, 2006 between Delta-T Corporation and Buffalo
Lake Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.28 to
the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1
(file no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.49
|
License
Agreement dated April 28, 2006 between Delta-T Corporation and
Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.29 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.50
|
Stockholders
Agreement between BioFuel Energy Corp. and Cargill Biofuel
Investments, LLC dated June 19, 2007 (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed August 14,
2007)
|
|
10.51
|
Agreement
and Omnibus Amendment dated as of July 30, 2009, among Buffalo Lake
Energy, LLC, Cargill, Incorporated and Cargill Commodity Services, Inc.
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q filed August 14, 2009)
|
|
10.52
|
Agreement
and Omnibus Amendment dated as of July 30, 2009, among Pioneer Trail
Energy, LLC, Cargill, Incorporated and Cargill Commodity Services, Inc.
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q filed August 14, 2009)
|
|
21.1
|
List
of Subsidiaries of BioFuel Energy Corp. (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 21.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed March 30,
2010)
|
|
23.1
|
Consent
of Grant Thornton LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
*
|
|
23.2
|
Consent
of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (contained in Exhibit
5.1)
|
|
23.3
|
Consent
of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (contained in Exhibit 8.1)
|
|
24.1
|
Powers
of Attorney (included in signature page to the Registration
Statement)
|
|
99.1
|
Form
of Instructions as to Use of Rights Certificate **
|
|
99.2
|
Form
of Letter to Record Holders **
|
|
99.3
|
Form
of Letter to Nominee Holders Whose Clients are Beneficial Owners
**
|
|
99.4
|
Form
of Letter to Clients of Nominee Holders
**
|
*
|
|
Filed
herewith.
|
**
|
Filed
previously.
|
|
#
|
Exhibit
omits certain information that has been filed separately with the
Securities and Exchange Commission and has been granted confidential
treatment.
|
(b) Financial
Statement Schedule
II-8
Number
|
Description
|
|
I
|
Condensed
Financial Information (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K filed March 30,
2010)
|
Item
17. Undertakings
The
undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
|
1.
|
To
file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a
post-effective amendment to this registration statement:
|
|
To
include any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended;
|
|
To
reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective
date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective
amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a
fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration
statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in
volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities
offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from
the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be
reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to
Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price
represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price
set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective
registration statement.
|
To
include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution
not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material
change to such information in the registration statement;
|
|
That,
for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of
1933, as amended, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be
a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein,
and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the
initial bona fide offering thereof.
|
|
To
remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the
securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the
offering.
|
|
That,
for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended, to any purchaser: each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule
424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other
than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than
prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of
and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used
after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a
registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration
statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by
reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of
the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract
of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that
was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the
registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to
such date of first use.
|
|
That,
for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, to any purchaser in the initial
distribution of the securities: The undersigned registrant undertakes that
in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant
to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used
to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or
sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications,
the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be
considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:
|
|
Any
preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant
relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;
|
|
Any
free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf
of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned
registrant;
|
The
portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering
containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its
securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and
|
|
iv.
|
Any
other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the
undersigned registrant to the purchaser.
|
Insofar
as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the
registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant
has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission
such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim
for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling
person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in
connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in
the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such
indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended, and will be governed by the final adjudication of such
issue.
II-9
Signatures
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant
has duly caused this Amendment No. 3 to the registration statement to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Denver,
Colorado, on December 15, 2010.
BioFuel
Energy Corp.,
|
|
By:
|
/s/
Scott H. Pearce
|
Name: Scott
H. Pearce
|
|
Title:
President
and Chief Executive Officer
|
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Amendment
No. 3 to the registration statement has been signed by the following
persons in the capacities indicated on December 15, 2010.
Signature
|
Title
|
|
/s/ Scott H. Pearce
|
President,
Chief Executive Officer and Director
|
|
Scott
H. Pearce
|
(Principal
Executive Officer)
|
|
/s/
Kelly G. Maguire
|
Executive
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
|
|
Kelly
G. Maguire
|
(Principal
Financial and Accounting Officer)
|
|
*
|
Director,
Chairman of the Board
|
|
Mark
W. Wong
|
||
*
|
Director
|
|
Elizabeth
K. Blake
|
Signature
|
Title
|
|
*
|
Director
|
|
David
Einhorn
|
||
*
|
Director
|
|
Richard
I. Jaffee
|
||
*
|
Director
|
|
John
D. March
|
||
*
|
Director
|
|
Ernest
J. Sampias
|
*By:
|
/s/ Scott H. Pearce
|
Name:
Scott H. Pearce
|
|
Title:
Attorney-in-Fact
|
EXHIBIT
INDEX
Number
|
Description
|
|
3.1
|
Amended
and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of BioFuel Energy Corp.
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s
Form 8-K filed June 19, 2007)
|
|
3.2
|
Amended
and Restated Bylaws of BioFuel Energy Corp. dated March 20, 2009
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s
Form 8-K filed March 23, 2009)
|
|
4.1
|
Specimen
Common Stock Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to
the Company’s Amendment #3 to Registration Statement on Form S-1
(file no. 333-139203) filed April 23, 2007)
|
|
4.2
|
Specimen
Certificate for Shares of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
**
|
|
4.3
|
Certificate
of Designations of Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock
**
|
|
4.4
|
Form
of Rights Certificate **
|
|
4.5
|
Form
of Depositary Receipt *
|
|
4.6
|
Form
of Deposit Agreement *
|
|
5.1
|
Opinion
of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP regarding validity of the securities
being issued *
|
|
8.1 |
Opinion
of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP regarding certain tax matters
*
|
|
10.1
|
Second
Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of BioFuel
Energy, LLC dated June 19, 2007 (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed August 14,
2007)
|
|
10.2
|
Form
of Third Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of
BioFuel Energy, LLC **
|
|
10.3
|
Credit
Agreement dated September 25, 2006, among BFE Operating
Company, LLC, Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC and Pioneer Trail
Energy, LLC, as borrowers, BFE Operating Company, LLC, as
borrowers’ agent, various financial institutions from time to time, as
lenders, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as collateral agent, and
BNP Paribas, as administrative agent and arranger
**
|
|
10.4
|
Waiver
and Amendment dated September 29, 2009, to the Credit Agreement dated
September 25, 2006 and Collateral Account Agreement dated September 25,
2006 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current
Report on Form 8-K filed September 30, 2009)
|
|
10.5
|
Collateral
Account Agreement dated September 25, 2006, among BFE Operating
Company, LLC, Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC, Pioneer Trail
Energy, LLC, as borrowers, BFE Operating Company, LLC, as
borrowers’ agent, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as collateral
agent, and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as depositary agent and
securities intermediary (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to
the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1
(file no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.6
|
Registration
Rights Agreement between BioFuel Energy Corp. and the parties listed on
the signature page thereto dated June 19, 2007 (incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed
August 14, 2007)
|
|
10.7 |
Form
of Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement between BioFuel
Energy Corp. and the parties listed on the signature page thereto
*
|
Number
|
Description
|
|
10.8
|
Ethanol
Marketing Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill,
Incorporated and Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.9
|
Ethanol
Marketing Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill,
Incorporated and Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.10
|
Distillers
Grains Marketing Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill,
Incorporated and Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.11
|
Distillers
Grains Marketing Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill,
Incorporated and Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.8 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.12
|
Corn
Supply Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill,
Incorporated and Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.9 to the Company’s Amendment #5 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed May 15,
2007)
|
|
10.13
|
Corn
Supply Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill,
Incorporated and Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.10 to the Company’s Amendment #5 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed May 15,
2007)
|
|
10.14
|
Executive
Employment Agreement dated April 28, 2006, between BioFuel
Energy, LLC and Scott H. Pearce (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.11 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.15
|
Executive
Employment Agreement dated April 28, 2006, between BioFuel
Energy, LLC and Daniel J. Simon (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.12 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.16
|
Written
Terms of Employment dated March 9, 2010 between BioFuel Energy Corp. and
Daniel J. Simon (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the
Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed April 1, 2010)
|
|
10.17
|
Executive
Severance, Release and Waiver Agreement dated June 2, 2010 between BioFuel
Energy Corp. and Daniel J. Simon (incorporated by reference to Exhibit
10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed June 3, 2010)
|
|
10.18
|
Engineering,
Procurement and Construction Agreement dated April 28, 2006, between
Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC and TIC-The Industrial Company
Wyoming, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.13 to the
Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1
(file no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
Number
|
Description
|
|
10.19
|
First
Amendment to the Engineering, Procurement and Construction Agreement
between Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC and TIC-The Industrial Company
Wyoming, Inc., dated August 28, 2006 (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.13.1 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.20
|
Engineering,
Procurement and Construction Agreement dated June 9, 2006, between
Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC and TIC-The Industrial Company
Wyoming, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.14 to the
Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1
(file no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.21
|
Master
Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill, Incorporated and
Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.15 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.22
|
Master
Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill, Incorporated and
Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.16 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.23
|
Grain
Facility Lease dated September 25, 2006, between Cargill,
Incorporated and Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.17 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.24
|
Grain
Facility Lease and Sublease dated September 25, 2006, between
Cargill, Incorporated and Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC (incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 10.18 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to
Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.25
|
Cargill
Direct Futures Advisory Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between
Cargill Commodity Services Inc. and Buffalo Lake Energy, LLC
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.26
|
Cargill
Direct Futures Advisory Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between
Cargill Commodity Services Inc. and Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.20 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.27
|
Loan
Agreement dated September 25, 2006, between BioFuel Energy, LLC,
the lenders party thereto and Greenlight APE, LLC, as administrative
agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.21 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.28
|
Loan
Agreement dated as of September 24, 2010, by and among BioFuel Energy
Corp., Greenlight Capital, LP, Greenlight Capital Qualified, LP,
Greenlight Capital (Gold), LP, Greenlight Capital Offshore Partners,
Greenlight Capital Offshore Master (Gold), Ltd., Greenlight Reinsurance,
Ltd. and Third Point Loan LLC and Greenlight APE, LLC, as administrative
agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current
Report on Form 8-K filed September 27, 2010)
|
Number
|
Description
|
|
10.29
|
Rights
Offering Letter Agreement dated as of September 24, 2010, by and among
BioFuel Energy Corp., Greenlight Capital, LP, Greenlight Capital
Qualified, LP, Greenlight Capital (Gold), LP, Greenlight Capital Offshore
Partners, Greenlight Capital Offshore Master (Gold), Ltd., Greenlight
Reinsurance, Ltd. and Third Point Loan LLC (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed September
27, 2010)
|
|
10.30
|
Form
of Amended and Restated Rights Offering Letter Agreement by and among the
registrant, BioFuel Energy, LLC, Greenlight Capital, LP, Greenlight
Capital Qualified, LP, Greenlight Capital (Gold), LP, Greenlight Capital
Offshore Partners, Greenlight Capital Offshore Master (Gold), Ltd.,
Greenlight Reinsurance, Ltd., Third Point Loan LLC and Third Point
Advisors, LLC **
|
|
10.31
|
Voting
Agreement dated as of September 24, 2010 by Greenlight Capital, LP,
Greenlight Capital Qualified, LP, Greenlight Capital (Gold), LP,
Greenlight Capital Offshore Partners, Greenlight Capital Offshore Master
(Gold), Ltd. and Greenlight Reinsurance, Ltd. (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed
September 27, 2010)
|
|
10.32
|
Voting
Agreement dated as of September 24, 2010 by Third Point Loan LLC
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Current Report
on Form 8-K filed September 27, 2010)
|
|
10.33
|
Form
of Amended and Restated Voting Agreement between BioFuel Energy Corp. and
Greenlight Capital, LP, Greenlight Capital Qualified, LP, Greenlight
Capital (Gold), LP, Greenlight Capital Offshore Partners, Greenlight
Capital Offshore Master (Gold), Ltd. and Greenlight Reinsurance, Ltd.
**
|
|
10.34
|
Form
of Amended and Restated Voting Agreement between BioFuel Energy Corp. and
Third Point Loan LLC **
|
|
10.35
|
Letter
Agreement dated as of September 23, 2010, by and among BioFuel Energy
Corp., BFE Operating Company, LLC, Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC, Buffalo Lake
Energy, LLC, Cargill, Incorporated and Cargill Commodity Services, Inc.
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Current Report
on Form 8-K filed September 27, 2010) #
|
|
10.36
|
Waiver
Letter, dated September 24, 2010, by Scott H. Pearce, President and Chief
Executive Officer, Kelly G. Maguire, Executive Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer, Doug Anderson, Vice President of Operations, and Mark
Zoeller, Vice President and General Counsel (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report filed September 30, 2010)
|
|
10.37
|
BioFuel
Energy, LLC Deferred Compensation Plan for Select Employees
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.22 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.38
|
BioFuel
Energy Amended and Restated Deferred Compensation Plan for Select
Employees (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.22.1 to the Company’s
Annual Report on Form 10-K filed March 12, 2008)
|
|
10.39
|
BioFuel
Energy, LLC Change of Control Plan (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.23 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.40
|
BioFuel Energy Corp 2007 Equity
Incentive Compensation Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.24 to
the Company’s Amendment #3 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed April 23, 2007
)
|
|
10.41
|
BioFuel
Energy, LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Prototype Plan Document
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.25 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
Number
|
Description
|
|
10.42
|
Amendment
to BioFuel Energy, LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Prototype Plan Document
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.25.1 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.43
|
Amendment
to BioFuel Energy, LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Prototype Plan Document
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.25.2 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.44
|
Addendum
to BioFuel Energy, LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Prototype Plan Document
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.25.3 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.45
|
BioFuel
Energy, LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Adoption Agreement
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.26 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.46
|
Addendum
to BioFuel Energy, LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan Adoption Agreement
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.26.1 to the Company’s
Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file
no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.47
|
Tax
Benefit Sharing Agreement between BioFuel Energy Corp. and the parties
listed on the signature page thereto dated June 19, 2007
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s
Form 10-Q filed August 14, 2007)
|
|
10.48
|
License
Agreement dated June 9, 2006 between Delta-T Corporation and Buffalo
Lake Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.28 to
the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration Statement on Form S-1
(file no. 333-139203) filed January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.49
|
License
Agreement dated April 28, 2006 between Delta-T Corporation and
Pioneer Trail Energy, LLC (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.29 to the Company’s Amendment #1 to Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-139203) filed
January 24, 2007)
|
|
10.50
|
Stockholders
Agreement between BioFuel Energy Corp. and Cargill Biofuel
Investments, LLC dated June 19, 2007 (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed August 14,
2007)
|
|
10.51
|
Agreement
and Omnibus Amendment dated as of July 30, 2009, among Buffalo Lake
Energy, LLC, Cargill, Incorporated and Cargill Commodity Services, Inc.
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q filed August 14, 2009)
|
|
10.52
|
Agreement
and Omnibus Amendment dated as of July 30, 2009, among Pioneer Trail
Energy, LLC, Cargill, Incorporated and Cargill Commodity Services, Inc.
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q filed August 14, 2009)
|
|
21.1
|
List
of Subsidiaries of BioFuel Energy Corp. (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 21.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed March 30,
2010)
|
|
23.1
|
Consent
of Grant Thornton LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
*
|
|
23.2
|
Consent
of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (contained in Exhibit
5.1)
|
|
23.3
|
Consent
of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP (contained in Exhibit 8.1)
|
|
24.1
|
Powers
of Attorney (included in signature page to the Registration
Statement)
|
|
99.1
|
Form
of Instructions as to Use of Rights Certificate **
|
|
99.2
|
Form
of Letter to Record Holders
**
|
Number
|
Description
|
|
99.3
|
Form
of Letter to Nominee Holders Whose Clients are Beneficial Owners
**
|
|
99.4
|
Form
of Letter to Clients of Nominee Holders
**
|
*
|
|
Filed
herewith.
|
**
|
Filed
previously.
|
|
#
|
Exhibit
omits certain information that has been filed separately with the
Securities and Exchange Commission and has been granted confidential
treatment.
|