The Andersons to Acquire Harvestone Low Carbon Partners in $915 Million Ethanol Deal

The Andersons Inc. signed a definitive agreement to acquire Harvestone Low Carbon Partners from Energy Capital Partners for $915 million, as announced on November 4, 2026.

The deal involves three biorefineries, including two production facilities in North Dakota and a third facility in Rensselaer, Indiana, according to Agweek. The North Dakota sites are Blue Flint Ethanol in Underwood and Dakota Spirit AgEnergy near Jamestown, while the Indiana location is Iroquois Bio-Energy Co. in Rensselaer.

Approximately half of the purchase price is attributed to expected 45Z and 45Q tax credit cash flows, with the remainder allocated to base ethanol operations and additional low-carbon opportunities. With this acquisition, The Andersons will expand its Renewables platform by more than 40 percent, adding approximately 215 million gallons of annual ethanol production to reach a combined platform capacity of about 730 million gallons.

“Our Renewables strategy is centered on expanding our low-carbon production platform through disciplined investments and capturing the growing value of renewable fuels,” said Bill Krueger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Andersons, in a news release covered by PR Newswire. “We have been evaluating ethanol plant acquisition opportunities for several years, and HLCP is exactly what we have been looking for.”

The Andersons to Acquire Harvestone Low Carbon Partners in $915 Million Ethanol Deal — Photo: uk.finance.yahoo.com

Jeff Zueger, CEO of HLCP, also commented on the transaction. “We believe The Andersons is the right home for HLCP,” Zueger said in the release. “Our organizations share a strong commitment to our employees, our communities and the customers we serve, and we see a strong cultural fit between our teams. We’re excited about what we can accomplish together.”

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027, subject to customary closing conditions and adjustments. The purchase price includes a normalized level of working capital, and the deal is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings per share and cash flows.

David Ripplinger, North Dakota State University Extension economist, discussed the acquisition during a market outlook webinar. “What’s unique about them, and this is very much a carbon play in terms of the revenue that it’s going to generate,” Ripplinger said, as reported by Agweek.

Ripplinger said that Blue Flint Ethanol injects into the Broom Creek formation and is able to store CO2. While Dakota Spirit does not have that access, it is installing carbon capture technology to transport liquefied CO2 to the formation used by Blue Flint.

“One of the things that is interesting in that is right now we are approaching the point where Gevo, Blue Flint, and the Dakota Spirit Ag Energy have very small carbon intensities, near zero, which you know there’s clearly in the money for generating 45Z, but they don’t have necessarily as much room to allow farmers to have tax credits for that,” Ripplinger told Agweek.

“It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out in coming months.”

Frayne Olson, another NDSU economist, also shared his perspective on the regional impact during the webinar. “So, I think my initial response is, I think it’ll be good for the region,” Olson said, according to Agweek. “Again, we’ll have to wait to see how it all plays out.”