Turnspire Acquires LifeLine Foods and ICM Biofuels; Forms The LifeLine Group
At closing, Turnspire announced that Jeremy Bezdek has been named as the new president and chief executive officer of The LifeLine Group
The LifeLine Group operates through LifeLine Foods, a manufacturer of food-grade corn ingredients used in consumer packaged goods, foodservice, and industrial applications; and ICM Biofuels, a maker of ethanol and coproducts using a starch stream sourced from LifeLine Foods.
November 19, 2025|John McNulty
Turnspire Capital Partners has acquired LifeLine Foods and ICM Biofuels, renaming the combined platform as The LifeLine Group. Partnering with Turnspire on this transaction is AgraMarke Quality Grains.
With the close of the transaction, the food division will continue to operate as LifeLine Foods, while the biofuels business will be rebranded as LifeLine Biofuels.
LifeLine Foods manufactures food-grade corn ingredients used in consumer packaged goods, foodservice, and industrial applications. The company’s primary product categories include corn masa –flours, used in tortillas and snack foods; food-grade corn grits and meal, utilized in cereals, baking mixes, and brewing; and industrial-grade starches and byproducts, which serve as inputs for paper, packaging, and adhesives.
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Customers of the company include North American food and beverage processors, brewing companies, snack food producers, and industrial users. LifeLine Foods’ masa products are marketed under the LifeLine brand and are sold to both branded food companies and private label manufacturers. LifeLine Foods was founded in 2001 by Chuck Bebermeyer in partnership with AgraMarke Quality Grains, a cooperative of corn growers and is headquartered 50 miles north of Kansas City in St. Joseph, Missouri.
LifeLine Biofuels produces renewable ethanol and coproducts using a starch stream sourced from LifeLine Foods’ corn wet milling operations. The company’s products include fuel-grade ethanol, which is blended into gasoline to reduce emissions; dried distillers grains (DDGs), used as high-protein animal feed; and corn oil, used in both biodiesel production and feed formulations. Customers of ICM Biofuels include livestock producers, animal nutrition companies, and biodiesel manufacturers in the Midwest. ICM Biofuels’ operating facility is co-located with LifeLine Foods. Prior to this acquisition, ICM Biofuels was owned and operated independently by ICM, a privately held engineering and technology firm headquartered in Colwich, Kansas.
At closing, Turnspire announced that Jeremy Bezdek has been named as the new president and chief executive officer of The LifeLine Group. Mr. Bezdek has more than two decades of experience in biofuels and corporate development. Prior to LifeLine, he was the President of Freyr Battery US and EVP of Global Corporate Development and held senior roles at Koch Industries and its biofuels subsidiary Flint Hills Resources.
The global corn-based ingredients market was estimated at $45 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach more than $64 billion by 2035, for a compound annual growth rate of 3.3%. Simultaneously, the U.S. biofuels market is forecast to grow from $38 billion in 2025 to over $65 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of about 8%, with corn identified as the dominant feedstock. Turnspire’s acquisition of LifeLine Foods and ICM Biofuels—through its combination of corn-based food ingredient manufacturing with biofuels production—creates a platform that is well positioned to capitalize on both steady demand in traditional ingredients and strong growth dynamics in renewable fuels.
“We are thrilled to unify the LifeLine platform under a shared vision for growth,” said Abel Osorio, partner at Turnspire. “LifeLine operates at the intersection of food and renewable energy, where we see meaningful opportunities to enhance performance, expand capabilities, and build long term value. We are excited to partner with AgraMarke, which is a vital part of LifeLine’s ecosystem, and Jeremy Bezdek, whose experience makes him the ideal CEO to lead this business.”
Turnspire invests in North American companies with revenues between $75 million and $400 million, regardless of whether they have positive or negative EBITDA. The firm specializes in carve-outs, family ownership transitions, distressed companies, and complex transactions in out-of-favor or misunderstood industries. In December 2023, Turnspire closed Turnspire Value Fund II LP with $275 million in capital commitments. Turnspire is headquartered in New York City and was founded by Ilya Koffman in 2013.
LifeLine Foods manufactures food-grade corn ingredients used in consumer packaged goods, foodservice, and industrial applications. The company’s primary product categories include corn masa –flours, used in tortillas and snack foods; food-grade corn grits and meal, utilized in cereals, baking mixes, and brewing; and industrial-grade starches and byproducts, which serve as inputs for paper, packaging, and adhesives.
“We are thrilled to unify the LifeLine platform under a shared vision for growth,” said Abel Osorio, partner at Turnspire. “LifeLine operates at the intersection of food and renewable energy, where we see meaningful opportunities to enhance performance, expand capabilities, and build long term value. We are excited to partner with AgraMarke, which is a vital part of LifeLine’s ecosystem, and Jeremy Bezdek, whose experience makes him the ideal CEO to lead this business.”
