Second bidder emerges for Everglades land

A
second buyer emerged for the
U.S. Sugar Corp.-owned land the state had planned to buy for Everglades
restoration. The
Lawrence Group, which manages farmland in the South and Midwest U.S.,
offered to buy 187,000 acres for
$300 per share and said it could make the land worth $500 per share by
2016. The Lawrence Group said the state deal would make the land worth $365 per share
by 2016. The Lawrence Group also said that if the company were to win the bid for the land, some of it would still be
available for Everglades restoration. Governor Charlie Crist announced
earlier
this month that the state had offered to buy 181,000 acres of U.S.
Sugar
land
for $1.34 billion,
and the state and U.S. Sugar were expected to finalize a contract as soon as
this week.