Rumors of imminent consolidation in the ethanol industry gave some of the industry’s major players a stock market boost on Wednesday. Poet LLC, the biggest fish in the ethanol pond, announced this week that it was considering snapping up some its competitors. Poet isn’t naming any names, but bankrupt VeraSun announced it had received a takeover bid from another unnamed ethanol company.

From MSN MoneyCentral, here’s a brief rundown on how ethanol share prices have been affected:

VeraSun shares gained a penny to 8 cents in over-the-counter trading.

Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings Inc. gained 16 cents, or 23.2 percent, to 85 cents in afternoon trading. Verenium Corp. was up 6 cents, or 10.5 percent, to 69 cents, and Pacific Ethanol Inc. rose 5 cents, or 8.6 percent, to 63 cents. BioFuel Energy Corp. gained a penny to 40 cents.