A publicly traded food tech company has sold its facility in Southern Indiana as it grapples with financial issues.
St. Louis-based Benson Hill Inc. (NYSE: BHIL) announced Tuesday it has transferred ownership of its Seymour, Indiana, soybean crush facility to White River Soy Processing LLC for about $36 million of total gross proceeds, subject to working capital and other adjustments, according to a news release.
Seymour is about 50 miles north of Louisville on Interstate 65.
Founded in 2012, Benson Hill is an ingredients developer with technology, called CropOS, designed to use data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning to help improve crop varieties with better accuracy, nutritional value and sustainability than traditional breeding methods.
The Seymour transaction was a part of the company's liquidity improvement plan, as it intends to use the proceeds to improve its liquidity position, pay down debt and reduce operating and working capital costs, while maintaining relationships with farmer partners in Indiana.
Benson Hill has owned and operated the facility since 2021 — the same year the company went public.
“The sale of the Seymour crush assets sharpens our focus on future growth and further enables disciplined capital allocation as part of our three-part Liquidity Improvement Plan,” said Deanie Elsner, CEO of Benson Hill, in the release. “Under our ownership, the Seymour team has achieved record-breaking safety and production records, and we are extremely grateful for their efforts. We look forward to working with White River to seamlessly meet the needs of our farmers, customers and team members.”
Sister publication the St. Louis Business Journal reported Tuesday that Benson Hill continues to pursue strategic alternatives for its operations, saying that discussions involved in that process could potentially take the firm private.
In August, Benson Hill reported second quarter revenue of $109 million, up 16.5% from $93.6 million in the year-ago period. It reported a second quarter net loss attributable to common stockholders of $56.8 million, broader than its $27.6 million loss in the second quarter of 2022.
Approximately 30 team members at the Seymour facility will become employees of White River, the release said. Benson Hill will honor 2023 and 2024 contracts with its farmer partners who deliver grain to Seymour.
The parties also expect to finalize a grain supply and licensing agreement to continue processing Benson Hill’s proprietary soybeans through the facility.
