14th Feb 2007 15:33
Tate & Lyle Agrees Sale of Canadian Sugar Refining Business Tate & Lyle PLC ("Tate & Lyle") announces that it has signed an agreement forthe sale of Tate & Lyle Canada Ltd ("Redpath") to American Sugar Refining, Inc.("American Sugar"). Redpath operates a cane sugar refinery in Toronto and apacking operation in Niagara Falls, Canada. On completion, Tate & Lyle will receive a net consideration of £132 million(C$299 million) subject to closing adjustments relating to working capital. Theconsideration will be used to reduce Group debt. The sale of Redpath is conditional upon regulatory approvals covering theCanadian competition bureau (anti-trust), foreign investment (Investment CanadaAct) and taxation. These approvals and completion are expected within the next90 days. In the year to 31 March 2006, Redpath had total sales of £177 million and aprofit before interest and exceptional items of £18 million. After adjusting forthe mark-to-market gain on inventory and allocated costs, the underlying profitcontribution to Tate & Lyle was also £18 million. At 30 September 2006 Redpathhad gross assets of £110 million and net operating assets of £84 million. Iain Ferguson, Chief Executive, Tate & Lyle said, "The sale of Redpath marksanother important step in focusing Tate & Lyle's business on its value addedstrategy. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our employees atRedpath for their commitment and hard work over the years and wish them everyfuture success." Credit Suisse acted as exclusive financial adviser to Tate & Lyle. \* TCONTACTS Mark Robinson, Director of Investor RelationsTel: 020 7626 6525 or Mobile: 07793 515861 Ferne Hudson, Head of Media and Public RelationsTel: 020 7626 6525\* T About Tate & Lyle: Tate & Lyle is a world leading manufacturer of renewable foodand industrial ingredients. It uses innovative technology to transform corn,wheat and sugar into value-added ingredients for customers in the food,beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, paper, packaging and building industries. The Company is a leader in cereal sweeteners and starches, sugar refining, valueadded food and industrial ingredients, and citric acid. Tate & Lyle is the worldnumber-one in industrial starches and is the sole manufacturer of SPLENDA(R)Sucralose. Headquartered in London, Tate & Lyle is listed on the London Stock Exchangeunder the symbol TATE.L. In the US its ADRs trade under TATYY. The Companyoperates more than 65 production facilities in 29 countries, throughout Europe,the Americas and South East Asia. It employs 7,000 people in its subsidiarieswith a further 4,800 employed in joint ventures. Sales in the year to 31 March2006 totalled £3.7 billion. Additional information can be found on this websitewww.tateandlyle.com. SPLENDA(R) and the SPLENDA(R) logo are trademarks of McNeil Nutritionals, LLC Copyright Business Wire 2007Related Shares:
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