Biofuels Firm Coskata, Backed by Boston VCs, Files for IPO

Here’s another data point for New England cleantech investors. Coskata, a Warrenville, IL-based developer of cellulosic ethanol, has filed paperwork for an initial public offering. The proposed maximum offering is $100 million, but as usual, that doesn’t mean much at this point.

Coskata is backed by a couple of Boston-area venture firms—Advanced Technology Ventures and Greatpoint Ventures. ATV (owning 17.7 percent) and Greatpoint (15.6 percent) are the third and fourth largest stakeholders in the company, behind Khosla Ventures and Blackstone Group. General Motors is also an investor in the company. Coskata has raised more than $80 million in VC funding since 2008 but isn’t making money yet.

It’s a difficult climate for biofuels companies. Nevertheless, Coskata isn’t the only one testing the IPO market. Lebanon, NH-based Mascoma filed to go public in September. Mascoma, which is building a cellulosic ethanol refinery in Michigan, is backed by another pair of Boston-area VC firms, Flagship Ventures and General Catalyst, as well as Khosla Ventures.

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.