VeraSun Energy Receives Final Bankruptcy Court Approval for Debtor-In-Possession Financing Totaling $196.6 Million from Senior Secured Noteholders

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Press Release:

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- VeraSun EnergyCorporation announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court has entered ordersgranting final approval for debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing totaling$196.6 million, including $93.6 million of incremental financing, $25 millionof which was previously loaned to the Company on an interim basis, to beprovided by certain holders of VeraSun's 9 7/8% senior secured notes due 2012.The incremental financing will be available, subject to certain conditions, tofund operations at ethanol production facilities in Aurora, South Dakota andFort Dodge, Charles City and Hartley, Iowa and to maintain the idled Welcome,Minnesota facility. The balance of the financing consists of approximately$103 million used to refinance prepetition loans that had been made by thenoteholders who participated in the DIP financing. This DIP financing matureson November 3, 2009.

The Bankruptcy Court also issued final approval for a group of lenders ledby AgStar Financial Services to provide a $24.5 million DIP facility,including $15 million that was previously loaned on an interim basis, forVeraSun production facilities located in Central City and Ord, Nebraska;Dyersville and Albert City, Iowa; Hankinson, North Dakota; and Woodbury,Michigan. The incremental $9.5 million will be used to maintain the productionfacilities in a safe and operable condition through January 15, 2009 pending amore permanent financing arrangement. The work force at these productionfacilities will be retained during this period, but VeraSun does not expectthe facilities to produce ethanol until permanent financing is secured.

The Bankruptcy Court further approved an initial $10 million in DIPfinancing on an interim basis from West LB to fund operations at facilitieslocated in Albion, Nebraska; Linden, Indiana; and Bloomingburg, Ohio. The WestLB DIP facility would provide an aggregate of $20 million in funding, thebalance of which will become available upon final approval scheduled forhearing on January 8, 2009.

"The DIP financing will allow us to focus on running the business whileundergoing the restructuring process as part of addressing VeraSun's long-termfuture," said Don Endres, VeraSun's Chief Executive Officer.

VeraSun continues efforts to secure long-term financing for its ethanolproduction facility in Marion, South Dakota. Its facility in Janesville,Minnesota remains idle.

The Court approved the Company's request to reject certain corn contractsfor delivery through December at the idled Welcome and Janesville facilities.The Company also intends to reject corn contracts for delivery through January31, 2009 at those facilities. In addition, because the company does not expectto operate the production facilities located in Central City, Ord, Dyersville,Albert City, Hankinson, and Woodbury through January 15, 2009, the Companyinformed the Court that it intends to reject contracts for delivery of cornscheduled at these facilities during this period. This action responds to anumber of requests by producers to gain certainty on the status of their corncontracts and will allow them to move forward to remarket their corn.

VeraSun and 24 of its subsidiaries filed petitions for relief underchapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court inWilmington, Delaware on October 31, 2008. The chapter 11 cases are beingjointly administered under Case No. 08-12606 (BLS). For more information,please visit [www.verasun.com].

About VeraSun Energy Corporation

VeraSun Energy Corporation (VSUNQ), headquartered in Sioux Falls, S.D., isa leading producer and marketer of ethanol and distillers grains. Founded in2001, the Company has a fleet of 16 production facilities in eight states.VeraSun Energy currently has an annual potential production capacity ofapproximately 1.64 billion gallons of ethanol and 5 million tons of distillersgrains.

VeraSun also markets E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percentgasoline for use in Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs), directly to fuel retailersunder the brand VE85(R). For more information, please visit VeraSun Energy'swebsites at [www.verasun.com] or [www.VE85.com].

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaningof Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E ofthe Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In particular, statements bythe Company regarding its chapter 11 reorganization process, as well as otherstatements of management's expectations, anticipations, beliefs, plans,intentions, targets, estimates, or projections and similar expressionsrelating to the future, are forward-looking statements within the meaning ofthese laws. Forward-looking statements in some cases can be identified bytheir being preceded by, followed by or containing words such as "estimate,""plan," "project," "forecast," "intend," "expect," "anticipate," "believe,""seek," "target" and other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements arebased on assumptions and assessments made by the Company's management in lightof their experience and their perception of historical trends, currentconditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to beappropriate. Any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of theCompany's future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties thatcould cause actual results, developments and business decisions to differmaterially from those contemplated by any forward-looking statements. Exceptas required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update anyforward-looking statements.

Some of the factors that may cause actual results, developments andbusiness decisions to differ materially from those contemplated by anyforward-looking statements include the following: the ability of the Company(which term, unless otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires,refers in this paragraph to VeraSun Energy Corporation and its subsidiaries)to continue as a going concern; the ability of the Company to satisfy theconditions for drawing on any existing debtor-in-possession financing and toobtain additional debtor-in-possession financing on an interim or final basis;the ability of the Company to operate pursuant to the terms and conditions ofany debtor-in-possession financing and any cash collateral order entered bythe bankruptcy court in connection with the Company's chapter 11 cases; theability of the Company to obtain a binding offer for the sale of its businessor assets to a third party; the ability of the Company to consummate a sale ofits business or its assets to a third party; the Company's ability to obtaincourt approval with respect to motions in the chapter 11 proceedingsprosecuted by the Company from time to time, including approval of motionsrelating to the priority of the lender's security interest under anydebtor-in-possession financing; the ability of the Company to develop,prosecute, confirm and consummate one or more plans of reorganization withrespect to the chapter 11 cases; risks associated with third parties seekingand obtaining court approval to terminate or shorten the exclusivity periodfor the Company to propose and confirm one or more plans of reorganization,for the appointment of a chapter 11 trustee or to convert the bankruptcy casesto chapter 7 cases; the ability of the Company to obtain and maintain normalterms with vendors and service providers; the Company's ability to maintaincontracts that are critical to its operations; the potential adverse impact ofthe chapter 11 cases on the Company's liquidity or results of operations; theability of the Company to fund and execute its business plan; the ability ofthe Company to attract, motivate and/or retain key executives and employees;the ability of the Company to attract and retain customers; the volatility anduncertainty of corn, natural gas, ethanol, unleaded gasoline and othercommodities prices; the Company's ability to generate sufficient liquidity tofund its operations and capital expenditures; the results of the Company'shedging transactions and other risk mitigation strategies; risk of furtherpotential long-lived asset impairment; operational disruptions at theCompany's facilities; the effects of vigorous competition and excess capacityin the industry in which the Company operates; the development ofinfrastructure related to the sale and distribution of ethanol; the effects ofother mergers and consolidations in the biofuels industry and unexpectedannouncements or developments from others in the biofuels industry; theuncertainties related to the Company's acquisitions of US BioEnergyCorporation, ASA OpCo Holdings, LLC and other businesses, including theCompany's ability to achieve the expected benefits from these acquisitions;the impact of new, emerging and competing technologies on the Company'sbusiness; the possibility of one or more of the markets in which the Companycompetes being impacted by political, legal and regulatory changes or otherexternal factors over which the Company has no control; changes in orelimination of governmental laws, credits, tariffs, trade or other controls orenforcement practices; the impact of any potential Renewable Fuel Standardswaiver; the Company's ability to comply with various environmental, health,and safety laws and regulations; the success of the Company's marketing andsales efforts; the Company's reliance on key management personnel; theCompany's ability to secure additional financing; deficiencies in theCompany's internal control over financial reporting constituting a materialweakness to be remediated; and other risks referenced from time to time in theCompany's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including therisk factors listed in Part II, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in the Company'sQuarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30,2008, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 19, 2008.Similarly, these and other factors, including the terms of any reorganizationplan ultimately confirmed, can affect the value of the Company's variouspre-petition liabilities and VeraSun Energy Corporation's common stock. Noassurance can be given as to what values, if any, will be ascribed in thechapter 11 proceeding to each of these constituencies. Accordingly, theCompany urges that the appropriate caution be exercised with respect toexisting and future investments in any of these liabilities and/or securities.

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