Back in August, we wrote about the ongoing struggles of Imperium Renewables, the Seattle-based biodiesel fuel producer that canceled its $345 million IPO, went through several rounds of layoffs, and lost a key contract with Royal Caribbean. Today, Imperium announced a recapitalization involving its existing investors. The majority of the new investment (the value and sources of which were not disclosed) was “used to satisfy its secured project lender, Société Générale, lien holders and unsecured creditors,” according to a company statement. Imperium is also using an independent business-debt restructuring firm to “assist in negotiating with its creditors to settle its remaining creditor obligations to leave the company with sufficient capital to resume operations.”
Given Imperium’s financial problems in the past year, something had to give. Spokesman John Williams said in an e-mail that Imperium “is focused on managing through the challenging time for the industry and positioning the company for long term success.” Imperium’s investors include Technology Partners and Nth Power, who led a $214 million Series B round in February 2007.
Today’s recapitalization is part of a broader restructuring plan to get Imperium back on its feet. “This funding is a significant step in the process we set forth in January to turn this company around, but we still face hurdles as the amount of funding is limited,” said John Plaza, founder and CEO of Imperium, in a statement. “With this recapitalization and cooperation of our creditors, we hope to resume operations as soon as possible.”
