Imperial Sugar Company announced that it has increased its ownership stake in Wholesome
Sweeteners, Incorporated, and also acquired an option to purchase the
remaining equity interest. Wholesome, an organic and natural sweetener
company based in Sugar Land, Texas, was formed as a venture in 2001
between Imperial Sugar and Edward Billington & Son, a diversified
agriculture and food company based in the United Kingdom.
Under the terms of the agreement,
Imperial paid $4.0 million in cash to purchase 5% of Wholesome’s common
stock from Billington, increasing Imperial’s ownership position from
45% to 50%. The $4.0 million investment also includes an option to
acquire the remaining 50% interest owned by Billington and is
exercisable between September 1, 2010 and May 31, 2011, at an agreed
multiple of future earnings.
“This is an excellent investment that
fits very well with our overall strategy to enter new businesses,
expand channels of distribution, develop innovative products, and
pursue new avenues of growth beyond our core business,” said John
Sheptor, President and CEO of Imperial Sugar Company. “We believe
Wholesome Sweeteners is the leading organic sugar company in the United
States and provides an excellent foundation for us to grow our natural
and organic portfolio.”
Nigel Willerton, CEO of Wholesome
Sweeteners, also welcomed the development as an exciting opportunity to
partner even more closely with Imperial Sugar. “We have built a strong
market leading position in North America through delivering the highest
quality products that meet the consumer demand for socially responsible
and environmentally sustainable farming practices. Imperial Sugar will
providea platformtotranslate our leadership in the natural and organic
channelto the mainstream retail environment, as well as theadditional
resources to support innovation and new product development.”
According to the Organic Trade
Association, organic food is one of the fastest growing product groups
within the food industry with sales growing 15%-20% annually. This
growth reflects an increasing trend among consumers to adopt organic
and natural items into their daily food and beverage diets.
“Wholesome Sweeteners’ sales performance
has been impressive, generating a compound annual growth rate in excess
of 30% for the last three years, and rising to the $43 million level in
2007. The company’s leadership position in the industry and continual
product innovations should enable it to capture rising product sales in
the expanding organic and natural sweetener channels providing enhanced
margins relative to our traditional refined sugar processing and
marketing business,” added Sheptor.
Wholesome Sweeteners is a pioneer in
Fair Trade Certified(TM) organic and natural sugars, molasses and
honey, bringing the first Fair Trade Certified sweeteners to North
America. Recently, the company also introduced the first Fair Trade
Certified organic honey products, which will be available through
distribution channels in August.
About Imperial Sugar
Imperial Sugar Company is one of the
largest processors and marketers of refined sugar in the United States
to food manufacturers, retail grocers and foodservice distributors. The
Company markets products nationally under the Imperial®, Dixie
Crystals® and Holly® brands. For more information about Imperial Sugar,
visitwww.imperialsugar.com.
About Wholesome Sweeteners
Wholesome Sweeteners is a leading
organic sweetener company based in Sugar Land, Texas and a venture
between Imperial Sugar Company and Edward Billington & Son, based
in the United Kingdom. For more information about Wholesome,
visitwww.organicsugars.biz.