Merisant exits bankruptcy

The company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy last January as part of a plan to free more cash to invest in its stevia-derived PureVia sweetener, it said at the time.

Its restructuring plan cuts the company’s indebtedness from $567m to about $147m lowering its annual cash interest expense from around $36m to $11m.

Paul Block, the firm’s president and chief executive officer said: “This financial restructuring provides the right capital structure and resources for Merisant to aggressively pursue its goal of becoming a leading consumer packaged goods company. Merisant has an enviable portfolio of sweeteners and considerable opportunity in the natural sweetener category. We are now better equipped to capitalize on these assets.”​

Investment company​

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As part of the restructuring plan, investment company Wayzata has become the majority and controlling shareholder of Merisant and its subsidiaries. Wayzata has appointed Eugene Davis as chairman of the board of directors.

Davis said: “Merisant has made significant achievements in the last several years despite its restrictive capital structure.”​ Over that time the company had stabilized its core

sweetener business, improved operating efficiencies, and led innovations in natural sweeteners, he added.

The company said that it had operated “without material disruption” ​during the bankruptcy case.

In mid December last year the company predicted that it would exit banckrupcy in early January this year.

When the company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2009, Block said:

“Through this balance sheet restructuring, we anticipate converting a significant amount of our debt to equity, which will be positive for Merisant, our customers and employees. ​

The restructuring will free up more cash to invest in our business and support PureVia, our exciting all-natural, zero-calorie sweetener, which we launched last month [December 2008] with PepsiCo.”​

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Rival sweeteners​

Meanwhile, Merisant, whose brands include the sweeteners Equal and Canderel, has faced sharp competition from rival sweeteners such as Splenda, which is believed to have won market share from the company, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Merisant sales were approximately $277m for the 12 months ended September 30, 2008, it said.

But last December, Merisant and Cargill both received official notification of no objection from the FDA, opening up the stevia market. This followed their notification to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that Reb A, which is made from the stevia leaf, should have GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status for use in food and beverages.

In 2008, Merisant subsidiary the Whole Earth Sweetener Company, along with drinks giant PepsiCo, and PureCircle, launched the PureVia brand of Reb A.