Imperial Sugar (Nasdaq: IPSU) to go private in $78 million deal; Shares Soar 56%

Shawshank, VA 5/1/12 (StreetBeat) -- Privately held Louis Dreyfus Commodities LLC said one of its subsidiaries agreed to acquire Imperial Sugar Co (Nasdaq: IPSU) for about $78 million, as the commodity company looks to diversify into refining and distribution.

At $6.35 per share, the offer represents a 57 percent premium to Imperial Sugar's closing stock price on Monday.
Including debt, the all-cash deal is worth $203 million, the companies said in a statement.

"This transaction is an important step forward in our plan to grow and diversify our global sugar activities from sugar cane crushing and international sugar trading into sugar refining and distribution," Louis Dreyfus Commodities Chief Executive Mikael Morn said.

Please contact www.thestreetbeat.com for interest in our latest investor relations platform the “CEO Interview Series” with its host Steve Kanaval. The package includes a one-on-one interview with a seasoned industry professional; published segment to our web site with embedded audio/video file; and a compressed file that can be easily e-mailed out to your current and/or potential investors. Please e-mail bflautt@gmail.com or call (662) 392-0740 for pricing and scheduling.

StreetBeat Disclaimer

Distributed by Viestly

Imperial Sugar (Nasdaq: IPSU) 4Q loss widens on high sugar prices

Tallahassee, FL 1/6/12 (StreetBeat) -- Imperial Sugar Co.'s (Nasdaq: IPSU) fiscal fourth-quarter loss widened as it dealt with increased raw sugar prices and competitive pricing by its rivals.

The Sugar Land, Texas company said Friday that it will consider more asset sales as higher sugar prices and mounting losses put pressure on its financial resources.

The company reported Friday that it lost $32.5 million, or $2.73 per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30. That compares with a loss of $2.3 million, or 19 cents per share, a year ago.

Revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 slipped 13 percent to $231.4 million from $264.4 million.

President and CEO John Sheptor said in a statement that aside from the higher raw sugar prices and competitive pricing, Imperial Sugar's results were hurt by slower-than-expected progress in raising production rates and cutting costs at its refinery in Port Wentworth, Ga.

For the year, Imperial Sugar lost $53.4 million, or $4.49 per share. That compares with a profit of $136.9 million, or $11.33 per share, in the previous year.

Fiscal 2010's results included a pretax $278.5 million gain related to an insurance claim settlement, while fiscal 2011's results include an $18.9 million charge for a valuation allowance and impairment charges of $7.1 million.

Annual revenue declined 7 percent to $848 million from $908 million.

StreetBeat Disclaimer

Distributed by Viestly