Chiquita Brands to Buy Fyffes to Form Biggest Banana Company [View all]

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Chiquita Brands International Inc., (CQB) owner of the namesake banana label, agreed to buy Fyffes Plc (FFY) in an all-stock transaction that values the Dublin-based fresh-produce distributor at about $526 million.

The deal will create a business with annual revenue of about $4.6 billion, the companies said today in a statement. Chiquita shareholders will own about 50.7 percent of the combined entity, with Fyffes investors holding the remainder.

“The deal is logical and will be a good fit going forward for both parties,” said David Holohan, an analyst at Merrion Capital in Dublin. “This is an excellent result for Fyffes.”

The transaction will create the world’s biggest banana company, which will also produce packaged salads, melons and pineapples. Known as ChiquitaFyffes Plc, the new business will target at least $40 million of annual cost savings by the end of 2016 through more efficient purchasing.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-10/chiquita-brands-to-merge-with-fyffes-to-create-banana-leader.html

The merged company will be domiciled in Ireland.