Monsanto Announces Sale of Tabletop Sweetener Business

From Monsanto Today Extra Feb. 4, 2000 Vol. 8 No. 17

Monsanto announced Feb. 4 the signing of a definitive agreement related to the sale of our tabletop sweetener business, including the Equal, Canderel and NutraSweet tabletop brands, to Tabletop Acquisition Corp. (TAC), whose institutional investors are led by Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P. and MSD Capital, L.P. Under terms of the agreement, TAC will pay $570 million cash for the business.

All tabletop sweetener people will be offered employment by the new owners. The tabletop-sweetener management team will remain in place following completion of the transaction.

The divestiture of the tabletop business is part of a restructuring plan announced by Monsanto that includes selling businesses that are not core to our long-term strategy.

"TAC is acquiring a solid, established business with highly recognizable brands, a sound customer base and a quality, experienced management team," said Gary Crittenden, Monsanto's chief financial officer. "As we stated last year, the tabletop sweetener business, as well as the sweetener ingredients and biogums businesses, are excellent revenue-generating businesses that are not in line with Monsanto's strategic direction. We're pleased that TAC is investing in the tabletop sweetener business and intends to further enhance its competitive position in the marketplace."

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