Mascoma Corp, a biofuel firm backed by Vinod Khosla, withdrew its registration for its planned initial public offering. The supposed sale was expected to net US$100 million.

In a statement, Mascoma said, "The company has determined at this time not to proceed with the offering due to market conditions."

This is the fourth biofuel company to delay or cancel its IPO since 2012. The firms that withdrew its IPO application were Enerkem Inc, Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc and Coskata Inc.

Mascoma is in engaged in the development of genetically modified yeast and bacteria that create enzymes that break down plant sugars to aid in the fermentation into ethanol. The plan was to use the proceeds of the IPO to develop production processes and expand sales in the ethanol industry. Plans were also drafted to build manufacturing plants in Michigan and in Alberta, Canada.

The underwriters for the IPO were Morgan Stanley, UBS, Credit Suisse, Baird and Co and Cannacord Genuity.