The Andersons Buys Harvestone for $915M, Expanding Ethanol 40%

The Andersons Inc. will pay $915 million for Harvestone Low Carbon Partners (HLCP), adding 215 million gallons of annual ethanol capacity and expanding its Renewables platform by more than 40%. The deal, announced November 4, 2026, brings the company's combined ethanol production to roughly 730 million gallons a year.

The seller is Energy Capital Partners. HLCP owns and operates three ethanol plants — two in North Dakota, one in Indiana. Roughly half of the purchase price is attributed to expected 45Z and 45Q tax credit cash flows, with the remainder covering the base ethanol operations and additional low-carbon opportunities. That split deserves attention: about $457 million of the price depends on federal tax credit streams that remain subject to policy and implementation risk, not on gallons alone.

What does the acquisition deliver?

CEO Bill Krueger framed the deal as the outcome of a multi-year search. "We have been evaluating ethanol plant acquisition opportunities for several years, and HLCP is exactly what we have been looking for," he said, citing production economics, low-carbon capabilities and "strategically advantaged locations" that he called a combination "difficult to replicate."

The strategic case, as the company lays it out:

• Scale and geography. The North Dakota plants extend The Andersons' reach into the western Corn Belt; the Indiana facility complements its eastern Corn Belt operations. The facilities carry favorable corn procurement economics and established logistics.
• Carbon capture. HLCP brings operating carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) infrastructure, placing The Andersons among a very limited set of U.S. ethanol producers with demonstrated Class VI CO2 injection capability — a real edge in an industry where most planned sequestration capacity is still on paper.
• Premium markets. Lower-carbon ethanol can command premium pricing beyond conventional ethanol margins, and HLCP has already commercialized that advantage.
• Integration. The Andersons' grain origination, merchandising and logistics should strengthen feedstock procurement and lift value from co-products such as DDGS and distillers corn oil, alongside regenerative ag programs across the combined fleet.

Jeff Zueger, CEO of HLCP, endorsed the buyer: "We believe The Andersons is the right home for HLCP," citing shared commitment to employees, communities and customers, and "a strong cultural fit."

How will it be financed?

The company plans roughly $300 million in borrowings under its existing revolving credit facility plus $615 million in new long-term debt. U.S. Bank National Association and Farm Credit Mid-America, PCA provided committed financing.

Management projects pro forma long-term debt-to-EBITDA below its stated target of less than 2.5x, and expects the deal to be immediately accretive. Those projections assume HLCP's tax credit generation performs as modeled — the same assumption embedded in the valuation. The price includes a normalized level of working capital, subject to customary adjustments. Closing is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026 or early in the first quarter of 2027, pending regulatory approvals. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC advised The Andersons; Polsinelli PC served as legal advisor.

What did Q3 results show?

Reported separately, third-quarter results ended September 30, 2026, hit records on the renewables side:

• Record third-quarter net income attributable to The Andersons of $46 million, or $1.36 per diluted share; adjusted net income of $47 million, or $1.38 per diluted share.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $101 million.
• Record Renewables pretax income of $63 million on efficient operations and higher co-product values.
• Agribusiness pretax income of $5 million attributable, or $9 million adjusted, on increased market volatility.

"Our third-quarter results reflect significant year-over-year improvement in both Renewables and Agribusiness," Krueger said, crediting operational execution, higher co-product values, lower eastern corn basis, and improved ethanol and corn oil yields. The quarter included $27 million of recognized 45Z tax credits from low-carbon strategies — a concrete measure of what those credits already contribute.

Agribusiness gains came from merchandising units trading on higher commodity prices and volatility, driven largely by western Corn Belt weather variability and production uncertainty. Krueger expects market dislocations and a solid eastern Corn Belt harvest to create opportunities into 2027.

What comes next?

The Port of Houston soybean meal export project is operational, with shipments being booked through 2026 and into 2027. The Clymers, Indiana, ethanol de-bottlenecking project remains on track to add 30 million gallons of capacity in mid-2027, and the company says past organic growth projects are delivering at or above original estimates. Krueger closed by pointing to growing worldwide demand for low-carbon fuels as the basis for long-term value — a claim that now carries $915 million of the company's capital behind it.