On May 17, U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the sale of Dixie Pellets' assets. At the time it filed for bankruptcy in September 2009, Dixie Pellets reported $70 million in debt. When announced, the plant was expected to cost $75 million to build.
How much money did Dixie raise in the sale? The bulk of the money was raised from the sale of the plant. Zilkha Biomass Energy of Houston, a company that develops small-scale combined heat and power projects using its Zilkha Biomass Unit, purchased the facility for $6.25 million. No report on what Zilkha plans for the site or the equipment. Also included in the sale were 10 barges, which sold to BKM Holding LLC for $3.8 million and a tugboat that sold for $30,000.
In total, the $10 million raised in the bankruptcy sale will not go far. Dixie Pellets’ current debt includes over $35 million in claims from creditors, $188,000 in property taxes, plus undisclosed amounts for attorneys’ fees and other recovered charges allowed under bankruptcy law.
Suz-Anne Kinney
Forest2Market: July 14, 2023
