German biodiesel maker Gate sold by Swiss parent

HAMBURG, July 22 (Reuters) - Swiss investment firm Fortune Management Inc. (FMI1.DE) said on Tuesday it has sold its German biodiesel producer Gate Global Alternative Energy Holding to a group of investors largely comprising banks.

Gate had said in March its 200,000 tonne biodiesel plant at Wittenberg and 60,000 tonne plant in Halle were working under capacity.

Production at the two German plants will continue, a Fortune Management spokeswoman said. She declined to name the banks involved or give a value for the deal.

The investors would own 95 percent of Gate and company managers five percent.

Gate's 100,000 tonne plant at Enns in Austria was not part of the sale, she said. The Enns plant declared insolvency in March.

Germany's biodiesel industry has this year faced a crisis as sales fell dramatically after the German government increased taxes on the green fuel in January.

Biofuel industry associations estimate the industry is only producing at about 10 to 20 percent of capacity. Imports of cheap biodiesel from the U.S. were also largely covering demand for compulsory blending of biodiesel with fossil diesel at oil refineries.

Leading German biodiesel maker Campa in May also declared insolvency partly because of falling sales.

Fortune had said in June Gate would be spun off into an independent entity and will be restructured under the leadership of Alvarez & Marsal, a specialist turnaround management firm.