Green Plains Inc. is buying three ethanol plants from a bankrupt competitor for $237 million.
The Omaha-based company says it won an auction to buy three Abengoa Bioenergy plants in Madison, Ill., Mount Vernon, Ind., and York, Neb.
The plants being acquired can produce 236 million gallons of ethanol per year.
Green Plains is already the fourth-largest American ethanol producer. After the acquisition, Green Plains will own 17 ethanol plants that can make nearly 1.5 billion gallons a year.