WILTON, CONN. — U.S. Sugar, a privately held agribusiness based in Clewiston, Fla., will acquire the business and assets of Imperial Sugar Co. from Louis Dreyfus Co. as the two companies entered into a definitive agreement announced on March 24.

Louis Dreyfus acquired Imperial Sugar in 2012 and currently operates a cane sugar refinery at Port Wentworth in Savannah, Ga., and a sugar transfer and liquidation facility in Ludlow, Ky. The transaction includes Imperial Sugar’s consumer-facing sugar brands sold mainly across the southern United States. Imperial Sugar primarily sources raw cane sugar from Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

“Imperial Sugar has a strong company heritage and looks forward to joining the U.S. Sugar family,” said Mike Gorrell, president and chief executive officer of Imperial Sugar. “I am confident that the move will create production, logistics and supply chain synergies and efficiencies that will benefit both companies and our customers, as we continue to bring them the quality products and brands they know and expect.”

In a letter to Imperial Sugar customers, Mr. Gorrell said it is expected the transaction will close in the second half of 2021.

“By combining U.S. Sugar’s presence in sugar cane growing, milling and cane sugar refining with Imperial Sugar’s operations in cane sugar refining and marketing, we will increase the competitiveness and reliability of both businesses in order to deliver the best possible value and service to our customers over the long run,” he said in the letter.

U.S. Sugar currently plants, harvests and processes sugarcane into about 800,000 tonnes of refined sugar each year. United Sugars Corp. is the marketing partner of U.S. Sugar and markets both industrial and retail sugar from U.S. Sugar. United Sugars Corp. also will market sugar from Imperial sugar once the transaction is completed. United Sugars also markets beet sugar products from American Crystal Sugar Co., Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative, both in the Red River Valley, and Wyoming Sugar Co. LLC.

Imperial Sugar Co.’s history dates to 1905 when the Kempner family of Galveston, Texas, purchased the Imperial Mill in Sugar Land, Texas, and formed the company. Imperial Sugar today manufactures and markets cane sugar, specialty sweeteners and other products.

Louis Dreyfus Co., based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, sources, transports and markets raw and white sugars to consumer markets globally. LDC will continue to operate across seven business lines in North America, where it exports cotton, soybeans, wheat and corn from the United States.

“We are confident that this transaction will enable Imperial Sugar to further expand its activities as part of U.S. Sugar, and we wish the business continued success in the future,” said Enrico Biancheri, global head of LDC’s sugar platform. “For LDC, this strategic decision does not impact our broader sugar merchandizing business, to which we remain fully committed, and enables us to refocus resources on growing this core business, building on our strong global position.”