Since March of this year, three companies involved in ethanol production have filed for IPO’s with the Securities and Exchange Commission -

IPO
VeraSun Energy Corp.,
Hawkeye Holdings Inc.
Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings Inc.

STOCK EXCHANGE
Pacific Ethanol, Inc,
Bill Gates, the richest man in America, allocated $84 million into Pacific Ethanol, Inc.
is currently trading at mind-boggling levels. Since Bill Gates made his investment, shares jumped from about $10 to a high of $44.50. It now seems to have leveled off around $25/share.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.,
the largest ethanol producer in the U.S., has seen its stock double in one year.





Sir Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group and worth an estimated $3 billion, has plans to invest $300 to $400 million to produce and market this promising alternative fuel. He says, “This is the win-win fuel of the future.”

Vinod Khosla, “guru” of Silicon Valley, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, and one of ethanol’s most vocal advocates, has invested millions of his own dollars in private companies involved in the development of ethanol.

What’s more, industry titans are recognizing the value of providing the American public with an alternative.
Wal-Mart announced that it is considering offering corn-based ethanol at its 383 gas stations throughout the U.S.

Not to be left behind, several Big Oil companies, including Shell and Exxon Mobil, are funding ethanol research.