Imperial Holly Announces Plans to Acquire Diamond Crystal Specialty Foods

Imperial Holly Corp. (Sugar Land, TX) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Diamond Crystal Specialty Foods, Inc. (Wilmington, MA). Diamond Crystal is a major supplier of nutritional dry mixes, sauces, seasonings, drink mixes and desserts to the foodservice and healthcare industries. The company has manufacturing facilities in Wilmington as well as in Moore, OK; Indianapolis, ID; and Boudurant and Mitchellville, IA.

Upon completion of the acquisition, Diamond Crystal's operations will be combined with those of Imperial Holly's Dixie Crystals Brands foodservice division. Dixie Crystals Brands supplies sugar and non-sugar single service products to the foodservice and healthcare industries with manufacturing facilities in Georgia, Ohio, California and Texas.

"Both companies are leaders in their segments of the foodservice industry with complementary product lines and manufacturing, research and development, and marketing strengths, and both have strong management groups with extensive industry experience and knowledge," commented James Kempner, president and CEO at Imperial Holly.

Earlier this month Imperial Holly announced that it would acquire Wholesome Foods L.L.C. from the Root family of Daytona Beach, FL. Wholesome Foods is the largest supplier of organic sugar in the U.S. and the owner of the country's leading organic sweetener, Sucanat. As a result of the acquisition, Wholesome Foods will have the in-house capability to produce Organic Sucanat and other new products the company has been developing.

"As was the case with the recently announced acquisition of Wholesome Foods, this acquisition will be another step in our strategy of increasing Imperial Holly's participation in the higher margin, higher growth sectors of the sweetener industry and utilizing the company's marketing and distribution capabilities to move into closely allied food ingredient segments," stated Kempner.

Imperial Holly Corporation is the largest processor and marketer of refined sugar in the United States, marketing under the Imperial and Holly brands in the southwest, the Dixie Crystals brand in the southeast, the Spreckels brand in California and the Pioneer brand in Michigan.