Juice company Grupo Cutrale and investment firm Safra Group have increased their bid for Chiquita Brands International Inc. from $13 per share to $14 per share, valuing the company at $658 million in an attempt to thwart Chiquita Brand’s planned merger with Ireland-based Fyffes Plc which was agreed to in April of this year. If successful in acquiring Chiquita Brands, Joseph Safra and Jose Luis Cutrale would become global giants with an expanded share of the world’s tropical fruit market. Currently Chiquita, Fyffes, Del Monte Produce, and Dole Foods control the $7 billion global banana market, but over the past decade Chiquita shares have lost two thirds of their value due to political unrest in Latin America, inconsistent demand for fresh fruit, and price volatility. Investor, Dublin-based Merrion Capital Group states that the Cutrale-Safra offer falls short of the $16 per share required to match the beneficial economics of the Fyffes merger which at its present value ranges between $15.46 and $20.01 per share and questions whether Chiquita’s board members and shareholders could be persuaded to accept.
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