LONDON — The Commercial Court in London on Sept. 29 awarded damages of £18 million ($27.3 million) to American Sugar Refining, Inc. in relation to claims A.S.R. made after its 2010 acquisition of Tate & Lyle’s European Union sugar business, according to London-based Tate & Lyle. Interest and costs will be determined in due course.
Tate & Lyle said it will report the judgment’s impact as an exceptional item within discontinued operations.
American Sugar Refining in 2010 paid £211 million for Tate & Lyle’s E.U. sugar business. The acquisition included a license for the use of the Tate & Lyle brand in connection with the sale of sugar as well as refineries in London and Lisbon, Portugal.
Tate & Lyle included information on the E.U. sugar business issue when giving financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015. A.S.R. raised a number of claims totaling about £40 million. The claims in large part related to the turbulence in raw sugar supply to the European Union during the period prior to closing and the increase in certain rolling re-export commitments of the business, according to Tate & Lyle. The judge on Sept. 29, 2015, found in favor of A.S.R. on two elements of its claims and rejected the rest.
American Sugar Refining, Inc. is owned by Florida Crystals Corp. and Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida. American Sugar Refining’s corporate brand name is ASR Group.