Banana producer Chiquita Brands International Inc has postponed a shareholder vote on a plan to merge with Fyffes Plc in order to engage in discussions with Safra Group and Grupo Cutrale regarding a $611 million unsolicited takeover bid.U.S.-based company said in a statement on Monday that Irish fruits producer Fyffes had granted a waiver so Chiquita can negotiate with Safra and Brazil's Cutrale. Chiquita's planned Sept. 17 shareholder meeting to vote on the Fyffes deal was postponed until Oct. 3, the statement added.Chiquita agreed in March to merge with Fyffes to create the world's biggest banana supplier. While management continued to support the Fyffes deal, Chiquita wants to hear a "final and best" offer from the bidders, the statement said.The move by Chiquita comes days after Cutrale and Safra began preliminary steps to launch a proxy fight. Safra and Cutrale were expected to struggle to convince Chiquita's board to accept the offer since the deal's potential benefits were not immediately clear for investors, sources told Reuters last month
Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (CBII), along with its subsidiaries, is an international marketer and distributor of bananas and other fresh produce, sold under the Chiquita and other brand names in 70 countries, and packaged salads sold under the Fresh Express and other brand names primarily in the United States. Shares of CQB fell by 1.09% or $-0.15/share to $13.60. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $9.24 and as high as $14.30. On average, 545497 shares of CQB exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1861216.
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