Como se combate o populismo? "Com eleições", responde Fukuyama

[GAB]

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- VeraSun Energy rallied more than 20% above its IPO price on Wednesday as the ethanol maker successfully wooed a weary market for initial public offerings.
VeraSun (VSE : verasun energy corp com
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10:54am 06/14/2006

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VSE30.01, +7.01, +30.5%) opened at $28 for an instant premium of 22% above its $23-a-share price. The stock rose to $29.59 on brisk volume of 10.2 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Brookings, S.D.-based company, ranked as the second-largest U.S. producer of ethanol, raised $421 million by offering 18.3 million shares priced above the estimated $20-to-$22 range.
Riding a U.S. push toward ethanol as a substitute for imported oil, VeraSun is the first of three producers of the corn-based motor fuel to go public this summer. Still to come are Aventine Renewable and Hawkeye Energy. See full story.

[GAB]

Shares of Ethanol Producer VeraSun Jump
Wednesday June 14, 10:29 am ET
By Dirk Lammers, AP Business Writer
Shares of Ethanol Producer VeraSun Jump 24 Percent in IPO


SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Shares of VeraSun Energy Corp., the nation's second largest ethanol producer, jumped more than 24 percent in their trading debut.
The shares, which underwriters priced at $23, changed hands at $28.60 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

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The Brookings-based company raised $419.75 million in an initial public offering as it led the renewable fuels charge onto Wall Street. The company had priced its initial public offering of stock Wednesday at $23 apiece, a dollar or two above an earlier expected range.

VeraSun will use the proceeds from the sale of 18.25 million shares and other cash to build two more corn-based ethanol plants and increase its presence in the Upper Midwest.

Two other ethanol companies -- Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings Inc., of Pekin, Ill., and Hawkeye Holdings Inc., of Iowa Falls, Iowa -- also are planning to go public during a time when many politicians are saying the U.S. needs to cut its dependence on foreign oil.

VeraSun's IPO shares represent a 24 percent stake in the company. The shares were trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VSE. VeraSun's 74.7 million outstanding shares at the current price give the company a total market capitalization of $2.1 billion.

The majority of the offered shares, 11 million, come from the company. The rest are from current investors, including 5.6 million shares from investment funds managed by Bluestem Capital Company of Sioux Falls. The underwriters also have the option to buy an additional 2.74 million shares from Bluestem's funds to cover over-allotments.

VeraSun, which announced its intent to go public in March, operates ethanol plants near Aurora and Fort Dodge, Iowa, producing about 230 million gallons of the renewable fuel each year.

The company has broken ground on a third plant in Charles City, Iowa, and is planning to build facilities in northwestern Iowa and near Welcome, Minn. The goal is to boost annual production to 560 million gallons by the end of the first quarter of 2008, the company said in recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

VeraSun reported a jump in profits during the first quarter of 2006 to $13.6 million, up from $1.7 million in the first quarter of 2005. Revenues more than doubled during that period from $45 million to $111 million.

The company reported 2005 net income of $253,000 and revenue of $236 million, compared to profits of $14.8 million and revenue of $194 million during 2004.

VeraSun had initially expected to sell 17.25 million shares at $18 to $20 per share. The company increased those numbers on Friday to 18.25 million shares at $21 to $22 a share before bumping them again before the offering.

Donald L. Endres, VeraSun's chief executive officer and director since 2001, is the company's largest single holder with 33.5 million shares, options and warrants, most of which is common stock. Although he is not selling any of his shares for the IPO, his interest in the company will drop from 51.7 percent to 43.4 percent after the offering, according to SEC documents.

Agricultural giant Archer Daniels Midland Co., of Decatur, Ill., produces the most ethanol, but renewable fuels are a relatively small part of that company's portfolio.

Aventine has been the main buyer and marketer of VeraSun's ethanol, but the two companies will end that relationship next year as Aventine prepares for its own IPO. Aventine in SEC filings said it plans to sell 7.75 million shares at $37 and $41 per share for its IPO.

Hawkeye Holdings announced last week that it would like to raise $350 million in its IPO.

VeraSun in its initial filing said the ethanol industry has enjoyed substantial growth over the past few years thanks to attractive performance characteristics, cheaper production costs compared to gasoline and strong legislative and government policy support.

It also cites several risk factors, including the industry's high sensitivity to corn prices, and a gross margin dependent principally on the spread between ethanol and corn prices.

VeraSun recently has signed partnerships with two major U.S. auto companies.

The company is working with Ford Motor Co. on converting existing fuel pumps to E85, an alternative fuel made from a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. VeraSun is also collaborating with General Motors to add 26 ethanol fuel stations in the Chicago area.

[GAB]

Pode eventualmente ser uma em que me interessa investir/especular.
Entrar "logo de seguida" não deve ser o caso devo esperar queda significativa para entrar então.

[Keyser Soze]

UPDATE 1-VeraSun prices IPO at $23/share, above forecast
Tue Jun 13, 2006 7:05pm ET171

NEW YORK, June 13 (Reuters) - Ethanol producer VeraSun Energy Corp. (VSE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday priced an initial public offering worth $419.75 million, according to an underwriter, above the previously forecast price range.

The 18.25 million share offering sold for $23 per share, compared with a forecast range of $21 to $22. The company had previously planned to sell 17.25 million shares in a price range of $18 to $20 per share.

VeraSun is offering 11 million shares, and stockholders are offering an additional 7.25 million.

The $23 per share IPO price values the company at about $1.7 billion.

VeraSun, based in Brookings, South Dakota, produces 230 million gallons of corn-based ethanol a year and is the second-largest U.S. producer behind Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM.N: Quote, Profile, Research)

VeraSun said it plans to use proceeds to help finance construction of a Northwestern Iowa facility, a Welcome facility and for general corporate purposes.

The company plans to double its ethanol output to 560 million gallons a year by the first quarter of 2008, according a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

VeraSun said in a regulatory filing that it would not receive proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders, including Chief Executive Officer Donald Endres, President and Chief Financial Officer Bruce Jamerson, Eos Partners and Bluestem Funds.

Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers and A.G. Edwards were the underwriters.

The company has received approval to list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "VSE" (VSE.N: Quote, Profile, Research).

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.