| POWELL, Wyo. (AP) Sugarbeet farmers want to delay their
purchase of six Western Sugar Co. factories until their ability to borrow
money improves.
Randon Wilson, a Salt Lake City attorney who has handled the buyout for
the Rocky Mountain Sugar Growers Cooperative, said the purchase may be
delayed until the end of the year.
Borrowing ratios are at their worst at the end of September, when
factory bins are empty, because the cooperative has no collateral to
borrow against.
As soon as we start to process sugar, the borrowing ratios improve,
Wilson said.
Western Sugars parent company, Tate & Lyle North America Sugars,
has cooperated with the request to delay the sale, Wilson said.
Western Sugar has refineries in Lovell, Wyo., Billings, Mont., Fort
Morgan and Greeley, Colo., and Bayard and Scottsbluff, Neb. Its corporate
office is in Denver.
The $48 million sale was agreed to about a year after sugar beet
growers in the four states formed a co-op and completed a financial
feasibility study to buy the company.
Were determined to get this done and were optimistic that we
will, Wilson said. |