Justice Department Sugar Merger

FILE – Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks at the Justice Department Aug. 11, 2022, in Washington. A federal judge has rejected the Justice Department’s bid to block a major U.S. sugar manufacturer from acquiring its rival, clearing the way for the acquisition to proceed.

The ruling, handed down Friday, Sept. 23, by a federal judge in Wilmington, Del., comes months after the Justice Department sued to try to halt the deal between U.S. Sugar and Imperial Sugar Company, one of the largest sugar refiners in the nation.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)