Advantage Capital Partners, a leading venture capital and small business finance firm, has invested $10 million in Owensboro Grain Company, a soy product and edible oil producer. The funds, raised in connection with the Kentucky New Markets Development program, will allow the company to expand its operations to include a glycerin refinery plant. The construction of this new facility will bring 10 new permanent jobs to the area and will create approximately 40 construction jobs.

"I am excited about Owensboro Grain's future in Kentucky," said Jeff Erb, CFO of Owensboro Grain Company. "We are now in the fifth generation of family ownership, and we continue to look for opportunities to expand. The Kentucky New Markets Development program is the kind of incentive that shows Kentucky's commitment to existing as well as new businesses."

Owensboro Grain produces a vast array of products from soybeans including meal, hull pellets, oil and lecithin for human and animal consumption. The addition of a glycerin refinery plant will allow Owensboro Grain to expand its offerings as well as utilize the full potential of local agriculture in a green energy initiative.

"We are delighted to partner with Owensboro Grain," said Philip Marshall, principal at Advantage Capital. "The Kentucky New Markets Development program played a vital role in the financing of this project, and it has enabled Owensboro Grain to continue to make a positive impact in the state. Advantage Capital Partners is looking to fund additional opportunities like this one, here in Kentucky and elsewhere."

Kentucky area legislators applaud the investment. "I am delighted to see the Kentucky New Markets Development program hard at work in Owensboro," said Representative Tommy Thompson, Majority House Whip (D-14). "We are committed to creating new jobs in Kentucky, and this financing for Owensboro Grain is a welcome step in the right direction."

About Advantage Capital Partners
Advantage Capital Partners is a leading venture capital and small business finance firm focused on providing growth capital and other investments supporting state and local economic development efforts. The firm's typical forms of investment include early stage, expansion equity, mezzanine financing, senior and subordinated loans and government-guaranteed lending. With offices and partners in St. Louis, New Orleans and other U.S. cities, Advantage has raised more than $1.6 billion in institutional capital since 1992 and invested in companies located in geographic areas underserved by traditional capital.

About the federal New Markets Tax Credit program
The federal New Markets Tax Credit program, administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, encourages private-sector investment in economically distressed communities through tax incentives. In a highly competitive allocation procedure, the Treasury Department awards the tax credits based on applications submitted for each tax year. Advantage has participated in the New Markets program since 2003, raising private capital for investment in low-income communities. These investments have spurred economic growth through innovative business ventures and job creation throughout the United States.

About the Kentucky New Markets Development program
Enacted in 2010, the Kentucky New Markets Development program encourages investment in promising small businesses located in distressed communities throughout the state. Modeled after the federal New Markets Tax Credit program, the goal of the state program is to attract large, long-term investors to Kentucky's low-income communities, promoting new expansion, creating new job opportunities and building on existing growth in the state.