Hoping to go public before the enthusiasm for clean energy burns out, Imperium Renewables Inc. has filed to raise $345 million through an initial public offering. In one of the largest deals to date for an alternative energy company, Imperium in February raised $113 million from investors, including Technology Partners, Nth Power and Vulcan Capital. The company makes biodiesel from corn and soy beans, using a proprietary technology that it claims will result in production costs of 63 cents per gallon (as compared with $1.50 per gallon from other biofuel producers). A quick check of Imperium's balance sheet shows an unprofitable company with losses of $5.5 million on sales of $5 million last year. The money raised through the IPO will be used to fund the construction of Imperium's next three biodiesel plants, but, as the cost of construction materials and labor soar, that may not be enough. Also of some concern is that Imperium has one major customer so far that will contribute all or most of its revenue in 2007 and 2008. Ultimately, Imperium's success may get a boost from macroeconomics in the oil industry that it competes against. According to an article in The New York Times, Big Oil blames the rising cost of gasoline at the pump on uncertainty around biofuels and ethanol. The oil companies say the interest in biofuels has forced them to put their plans for more refineries on hold, causing supply to drop and prices to rise. If the oil companies are hoping to produce a big consumer backlash as a result of their blame game, they may be surprised to find the finger pointing directly at themselves. Meanwhile, Imperium and other cleantech companies may be laughing all the way to the public markets. —Stacey Higginbotham
See story in The Deal.com
See story in The New York Times
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