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U.S. Sugar: Secrecy Allowed Buyout To Take Shape
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Published: June 26, 2008
For the past seven months, Gov. Charlie Crist and his staff have been talking in secret with U.S. Sugar Corp. about buying all its holdings in South Florida.
A legislative session came and went without the public hearing a word about the proposed $1.75 billion deal.
That was the only way to do it, U.S. Sugar Senior Vice President Robert Coker said. "You cannot have a billion-dollar deal like this negotiated in public," he said. "Imagine the impact on our company, the impact on our employees, the impact on our customers, our vendors, on all the stakeholders with interests in our land."
Dozens of issues had to be worked out before the two parties even knew whether they could come to an agreement, he said. One of the major points of negotiation was the price, Coker said. The company wanted more.
According to the agreement announced Tuesday, U.S. Sugar will shut down its operations in six years and pass its 187,000 acres of land and all of its operations to the South Florida Water Management District for $1.75 billion.
This year, the company's chief operating officer, Robert Buker, had said the company was worth $2.5 billion.
The sale is expected to be completed in November, though several details willneed to be settled. When the deal is done, it will be the largest conservation purchase in Florida's history, allowing the state to finally restore the historic flow of water into and out of the environmentally troubled Everglades.
The news caught state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, by surprise. He said he understood why the parties didn't want the word to get out: "When you're dealing with a company that has stockholders, you have to be careful. People could try to take advantage."
Only about two dozen people were involved in the talks, which Crist began in November. Company lobbyists had sought his help after being prohibited from dumping farm runoff into Lake Okeechobee.
Coker said he didn't meet all of them. "There were lawyers and bonding agents" and other advisers involved at different times, he said. "It was all very compartmentalized."
He bristled at the suggestion that the talks were secret. "This was no backroom deal. It wasn't like that," he said. And a lot of work has to be done during the next several months, including official appraisals of the land's value and environmental assessments.
"There will be gaggles of opportunities for people to ask questions," he said.
Crist spokeswoman Erin Isaac said no final decisions have been made. "What we signed was an intent to negotiate."
Though Fasano understands why the talks were secret until now, he hopes the South Florida Water Management District holds public hearings on the purchase and restoration plan. "People need a chance to voice their concerns and see where their money is going."
Reporter Lindsay Peterson can be reached at (813) 259-7834 or lpeterson@tampatrib.com.
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