Court adjournment may force Slaska Sugar to join Polski Cukier holding

The Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) yesterday adjourned the hearing on the sale of Slaska Sugar Company (SSC) to Saint-Louis Sucre of France. The court made no announcement on a date for giving its final decision, so under the new Sugar Law it now seems likely that SSC will be obliged to become a part of Polski Cukier. The Sugar Law states that any company not already sold into private hands must join the giant sugar holding. Saint-Louis Sucre had agreed to pay zl.500 million for SSC, but the final condition of the sale, obtaining the permission of the Interior Ministry, was not met, and so the French company took the case to court. The new Sugar Law is currently awaiting presidential approval. The deadline for him to sign it into law is July 16. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 21) M.T.