Pacific Ethanol to offer 200M more shares (Sacramento)

In an effort to raise capital and "restructure the company’s balance sheet" to reduce debt, shareholders of ethanol-maker and marketer Pacific Ethanol Inc. voted Thursday to increase the company’s authorized shares of common stock to 300 million from 100 million.

That was just one action stockholders took at the company’s 2010 annual meeting. Stockholders elected eight directors to serve until the 2011 annual meeting, and approved a number of proposals, including:

• • An increase in the company’s authorized shares of common stock under its 2006 stock incentive plan to 6 million from 2 million; and
• • A continuance of the company’s exchange program under which it issues shares of its common stock to a third party which has purchased company indebtedness from Lyles United LLC and Lyles Mechanical Co.

"We appreciate the strong support that stockholders have shown for our board today through the election of our directors," Neil Koehler, president and chief executive officer for Pacific Ethanol, said in a news release. "We are pleased with the results of our 2010 annual meeting as we believe they validate management’s plans to secure the company’s best position, both financially and competitively."

Read the full story in the Sacramento Business Journal.