Benson Hill divesting its Fresh business for $21M

Benson Hill entered into agreements to sell the assets and equity related to its Fresh business in a two-part transaction for an aggregate purchase price of $21M, approximately $18M of which was realized in gross cash proceeds in 2022, with the balance of the transaction expected to close in Q2. The company intends to use proceeds from the divestiture to supplement its plans to fully fund the business, inclusive of debt repayments, and execute its previously announced strategic initiatives. On Dec. 29, 2022, Benson Hill closed on the first part of the transaction, which included the sale of the Vero Beach, Fla., facility, real estate, and packhouse to IMG Enterprises, a diversified agribusiness in Groveland, Fla., for a purchase price of $18M, subject to customary adjustments. The company’s remaining Fresh business is expected to be divested to IMG Enterprises during Q2 for a purchase price of $3M pursuant to a stock purchase agreement. Following closure of the second transaction, the company expects to record an approximate 50% non-cash write-off of the book value of the business. Following these transactions, management maintains its 2022 outlook for the Ingredients Segment, and consolidated adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow: Ingredient Segment revenues of $370M-$390M and Consolidated gross profit of $11M-$14M. The company also maintains its 2025 outlook for the Ingredients Segment with revenues in excess of $450M, and continues to expect the achievement of positive EBITDA and positive free cash flow in 2025.