BioFuel Energy Corp., a development-stage ethanol producer, on Wednesday said it plans to sell 5.25 million shares at $10.50 a share in an initial public offering, below its expected IPO pricing range of $13 to $14 a share.

In a regulatory filing, BioFuel said it will also sell 4.25 million shares in a private placement directly to affiliates of Greenlight Capital Inc., Third Point LLC and its chairman, Thomas Edelman.

The 5.25 million shares being offered represents a decrease from the 9.5 million shares it indicated in its preliminary prospectus, the company said.

The underwriters will have the option to buy up to 787,500 additional shares.

The Denver, Colorado-based company expects to receive about $93 million in net proceeds, after deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses.

BioFuel plans to use the net proceeds to fund the equity portion of the construction costs of its Alta plant and repay or defer debt.

For the three months ended March 31, 2007, the company posted a loss of $154,000.

BioFuel, which works closely with privately held global agribusiness Cargill Inc., has got approval for listing its common shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol BIOF. (Reporting by Jennifer Robin Raj, Shivani Singh in Bangalore)