Eco-Energy Inc., a leading biofuel marketer and logistics company in North America, and Copersucar S.A., the largest sugar and ethanol trader in Brazil, have announced the internationalization of their ethanol operations with a joint investment in Eco-Energy to build and expand their integrated biofuel platform.

With this partnership, Copersucar and Eco-Energy add their global supply capacity of 2.6 billion gallons, (10 billion liters), of biofuel per year to become the largest ethanol trader in the world, with a significant presence in the two largest ethanol markets globally. This new structure creates the largest and most sophisticated biofuels platform in the world, which will help create significant efficiencies in the global supply chain as well as add value to both of the companies partner plants. The companies’ operations are very similar and complementary, focusing on the integration of world supply-demand and logistic solutions throughout the supply chain.

With 20 years of history, Eco-Energy operates in the marketing and distribution of biofuels, with solutions including exclusive alliances with ethanol producers, logistics, and marketing services to the downstream U.S. fuel distributors. Eco-Energy currently handles 9 percent of the U.S. ethanol market, with annual sales of over $3 billion and has strong relationships with producers and access to the most relevant markets and customers, due to an efficient operating platform, best in class resources, and focus on distribution and logistics.

The business model is very similar to that of Copersucar, a Brazilian company with 53 years of tradition in the sugar and ethanol industry. For the current season (2012-13), Copersucar will market the equivalent of 24  of the production from the sugarcane production in the Center-South region of Brazil, with a volume of 1.3 billion gallons (4.8 billion liters) of ethanol and 8.7 million tons of sugar, and revenues estimated at US$7.5 billion (R$15 billion). For the 2011/2012 season, ethanol sales accounted for 41 percent of the company's revenues. Its operations are supported by an integrated logistics system of transport and storage, and a large scale commercialization, both in the domestic and international markets.

"With this partnership, Copersucar becomes a truly global company in the biofuel market, expanding the scale of its operations to the two main ethanol markets in the world, which are the United States and Brazil, both in production and consumption volume," says Luís Roberto Pogetti, Coperscucar’s chairman. "We believe that this investment has a great potential for value creation for all, as it continues and expands operations, supported by its market expertise and strategic alliances," added Paulo Roberto de Souza. Copersucar’s CEO,

“We look forward to expanding globally with a partner as well respected as Copersucar. We have a similar business model and a comparable view on global biofuel growth. This partnership will help secure and build on the success of our company for years to come,” said Larry Beckwith, chairman of Eco-Energy. “The biofuels industry continues to evolve and expand beyond the borders of North America, and we need to constantly be working to open new markets, while also being in a position to meet the current biofuel requirements domestically under the RFS. This partnership builds on the great platform and team we have created at Eco-Energy and opens up significant opportunity for our producer partners,” added Chad Martin, Eco-Energy CEO.

The closing is still subject to certain regulatory approval.