Dreyfus Pays Big Dividend as Billionaire Owner Seeks Cash
- Margarita Louis-Dreyfus faces deadline to buy out family
- Financial results follow surprise departures of CEO and CFO
A worker walks next to distilling tanks at the Louis Dreyfus Commodities' Biosev sugarcane processing facility unity near Sertaozinho, Brazil
Photographer: Dado GaldieriThis article is for subscribers only.
Louis Dreyfus Co. paid a big dividend to its eponymous family owners despite dismal earnings, showing how majority owner Margarita Louis-Dreyfus is squeezing the company for cash.
The company paid a dividend of $411 million, partly financed with fresh debt, which will largely go to Louis-Dreyfus. The Russian billionaire heiress is in the process of raising money to buy out other family members and needs about $900 million to meet a December deadline.