Deal is done at Chiquita

Chiquita Brands International and two Brazilian companies announced on Monday that they had reached a deal for the Brazilians to acquire the banana producer. The deal was widely expected after Chiquita shareholders on Friday rejected the company’s acquisition of Fyffes, an Irish produce distributor.

The agreement provides that the Cutrale Group, a wholesale orange juice producer, and the Safra Group, a holding company, will pay $14.50 a share, or about $680 million, to acquire all outstanding shares of Chiquita and take it private.

The agreement ends months of effort by Chiquita to strike an inversion deal with Fyffes and reincorporate abroad as a public company.

“We are pleased to make this long-term commitment in Chiquita,” the Cutrale-Safra group said in a news release. “Chiquita will be able to take advantage of the vast knowledge of the Cutrale Group in farming, processing, technology, sourcing, distribution, logistics and marketing.”

Edward F. Lonergan, Chiquita’s chief executive, said in a statement, “We developed a tremendous amount of respect for the entire Cutrale-Safra team, especially their knowledge and understanding of global agribusiness, shipping and manufacturing.”

Chiquita will have to pay Fyffes a multimillion-dollar termination fee.

The Cutrale-Safra deal for Chiquita is expected to close by the end of the year or early 2015, the companies said.

Source: New York times