KIOR Parent Company Files Bankruptcy

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Biofuel maker KiOR Inc. has filed for bankruptcy, although its Mississippi subsidiary has not, preserving the chance that its Columbus plant could be sold quickly.

The company, based in Pasadena, Texas, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Sunday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, where it’s incorporated.

KiOR defaulted on a loan from Mississippi last week when it failed to make a $1.8 million debt payment. The state says KiOR Columbus LLC, owned by KiOR, owes $78.6 million.

KiOR estimates its assets are worth between $10 million and $50 million, while its debts are worth between $100 million and $500 million.

Financier Vinod Khosla, whose companies are KiOR’s largest creditors and shareholders, proposes that a new company buy KiOR’s assets for $16 million, if no higher bidder steps forward.