In 2021, U.S. Sugar, which operated one of the largest sugar milling and refining facilities within the US, announced that it would purchase Imperial Sugar, a sugar refining company based in Georgia, in a $315 million transaction. The Department of Justice (DOJ) sued to block the merger, alleging it violated US antitrust law and would harm competition for the production and sale of refined sugar to wholesale customers in the US Southeast as well as Georgia and its bordering states.
Bates White was retained on behalf of U.S. Sugar to aid in that acquisition. Nicholas Hill provided analyses of the US sugar market, both the product market and the geographic market, as well as evaluating whether the transaction would likely lead to reduced output or higher prices for refined sugar.
A federal court in Delaware ruled against the DOJ, saying the DOJ’s theories did not comport with commercial realities of the sugar industry and finding its proposed product market too narrow. In 2023, an appeals court upheld the original ruling.
Dr. Hill was supported by a team including Chuhang Geissler, Mico Mao, Ryan Lee, Andrew Joyner, and Allison Zalazar.
The team
Partner
Principal
Principal
The team also includes
- Manager
- Manager
- Senior Economist
