Cutrale-Safra up their offer to buy Chiquita to $658 million

Brazil's Cutrale Group and Safra Group boosted their offer to buy Chiquita Brands International to about $658 million, raising pressure on the banana producer to cancel its planned purchase of an Irish competitor.

Cutrale-Safra increased its offer to $14 a share, the joint bidders said today in an e-mailed statement, 7.7 per cent more than their initial, unsolicited proposal of $13.

The transaction would be financed with equity from affiliates of Cutrale and Safra and isn’t subject to financing conditions.

Cutrale, a closely held fruit juice company controlled by Brazil's Jose Luis Cutrale, has partnered with banks controlled by Joseph Safra, Brazil's second-richest man, to challenge Chiquita's planned acquisition of Fyffes.

The Fyffes deal, announced in March, would create the world’s largest banana company and cut Charlotte, North Carolina-based Chiquita’s tax bill by enabling it to move its headquarters to Ireland.

While Chiquita has continued to recommend the Fyffes combination, it adjourned a shareholder vote on the purchase and let Cutrale-Safra carry out due diligence so that the Brazilians could make another offer.

The latest offer is below the $16 minimum needed to match the economics of Chiquita’s proposed takeover of Fyffes, David Holohan, a Dublin-based analyst at Merrion Capital Group Ltd., said in an e-mail today.

The Fyffes deal will proceed, he said. Chiquita rose 3.7 per cent to $13.65 at 9.55 am in New York.

Fyffes fell as much as 4.9 per cent to 96 cent in Dublin, the biggest intraday drop since Sept. 5.

Institutional Investor Services said September 5 that Chiquita investors should reject the Fyffes deal and instead pursue a buyout from Cutrale-Safra.

Cutrale controls more than one-third of the $5 billion orange-juice market and has global operations in apples, peaches, lemons and soybeans.

Bloomberg