The Imperial Sugar Company has signed a letter of intent to sell its Michigan Sugar Company to the newly formed Michigan Sugar Beet Growers, a grower-owned cooperative.
Under the terms of the letter, the cooperative will pay $55 million at closing followed by deferred payments of $10 million. It also will assume $18.5 million in industrial development bonds.
The cooperative must secure funding and enough growers to run the factories by October 1, 2001. If the date is not met, the cooperative will lease the factories to process the 2001 crop.