RiceBran awarded final judgment of US$1.9m from US District Court related to purchase of Irgovel
Company expects the release of US$1.9m held in escrow in the next 30-60 days
RiceBran Technologies, a global leader in the production and marketing of value added products derived from rice bran, has announced that the US District Court for the District of Arizona has entered a final judgment in the company's favour for a total of US$1.9m plus interest related to the company's 2008 acquisition of its Brazilian subsidiary, Irgovel.
This final judgment affirms the previously disclosed arbitral award of R$4.8m from a Brazilian arbitration panel in May of 2015 and paves the way for the release of the $1.9m that has been held in escrow at a San Francisco bank in 2008 since the acquisition of Irgovel.
The company expects the funds to be released in the next 30-60 days. While all parties involved have the right to appeal the judgment within 30 days of it having been entered, the company believes it is unlikely that any appeal is forthcoming.
W. John Short, CEO and President, commented: 'This has been a long and arduous arbitration process. We are pleased to have finally closed this chapter in our company's history with this favourable judgment. We look forward to the release of escrow funds in the coming weeks so that we can put this money to work by paying down our USA segment senior secured debt and by supporting our company wide working capital needs.'
