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American Rice to go up for sale
Published November 3, 2009
FREEPORT — Spanish food giant Grupo SOS plans to sell American Rice in an effort to reorganize debt and focus on its olive and vegetable segments in the sluggish economy.
But the president of American Rice said the rice milling giant’s Freeport site and the more than 200 jobs it provides are expected to simply get a new ownership group, not close or have mass layoffs.
“We’re not going anywhere,” company President Lee Adams said. “Nobody’s going anywhere. There’s been quite a lot of interest expressed in acquiring ARI, and there was quite a lot of interest expressed long before this thing ever came out, and I’m quite certain for American Rice and all our employees that there will be a happy ending.”
Grupo SOS CEO Vincente Sos sent a letter to American Rice employees last month stating it plans to sell all assets not related to olive and vegetable oil. The sale will include any buildings not associated with production processes.
Also, the company plans to release restricted stock worth $200 million euro, or $300.38 million, to raise capital, the letter states.
“Since our business is both rice and global olive oil, at some point, we will be splitting those two operations and the rice business will be part of the divestiture,” Sos wrote in the letter, dated Oct. 21. “Our strong financial performance is likely to make us a desirable component of any sale.”
“The company is committed to taking the right steps in the sale to protect both its current and future position,” Sos wrote. “This will not be a rushed process and every decision that is made will be weighed carefully.”
Adams said he is not worried about the announcement because it will make the fourth time American Rice has changed hands since he joined the company in 1975, and it still is running strong.
“Our job as American Rice is to continue to do our job to the best of our ability and continue doing all the good things that we’ve been doing,” Adams said.
Sos said in the letter that Grupo SOS will continue to update American Rice employees as new information about the sale comes available.
“While we cannot ever guarantee what the future will look like, we want you to know that we are committed to sharing the facts as they are available,” the letter states. “For now, our business must continue to operate as ‘normal’ as the company is counting on our strong financial performance and leadership.”
American Rice is the United States’ third-largest milling operation, Adams said.
Nathaniel Lukefahr covers industry for The Facts. Contact him at 979-237-0151.
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