Investors to Buy Monsanto’s Sweetener Unit

An investment group that includes Dell Computer Corp. Chairman Michael Dell agreed to buy Monsanto Co.’s NutraSweet and Equal artificial sweetener business for $570 million. The group, Tabletop Acquisition Corp., includes MSD Capital, an investment fund that holds Dell’s personal investments, and Greenwich, Conn.-based investment firm Pegasus Capital Advisors. Monsanto said no jobs would be cut at the Chicago-based sweetener business, which employs 500. Monsanto, which has agreed to a $30.6-billion merger with Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc., said in July it would sell the sweetener division and other nutrition units to reduce debt and focus on its drug and agriculture business. Shares in St. Louis-based Monsanto closed up 25 cents at $42.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.