Tate & Lyle to Sell Molasses Business

LONDONTate & Lyle announced it has signed an agreement for the sale of its molasses business to W&R Barnett Ltd.  The sales price is £67 million, and is subject to closing adjustments and is conditional on employee consultation.
The molasses business consists of the global molasses trading desk in London, other worldwide marketing operations, and third-party storage operations in the UK. These businesses had external sales of £228 million and made an operating profit of £13 million in the year ending March 31, 2010, and had gross assets of £81 million at that date. The sale excludes historic UK pension assets and liabilities. 
On July 1, 2010, Tate & Lyle announced the sale of its EU sugar refining operations, and announced its intention to sell the remaining businesses within its sugars division, including molasses and Vietnamese sugar. The sale of the Vietnamese sugar business is progressing as planned.
I would like to thank our molasses employees for their hard work and commitment over many years, and wish them every success in the future," said Javed Ahmed, Chief Executive of Tate & Lyle. Tate & Lyles clear priority is to grow its specialty food ingredients business, supported by cash generated from Bulk Ingredients. This disposal represents another important step as we focus, fix and grow our business."