Banana producer Chiquita Brands International Inc adjourned a shareholder vote on a plan to merge with Fyffes Plc in order to engage in discussions with Grupo Cutrale and Safra Group regarding a $611 million unsolicited takeover bid.U.S.-based Chiquita said in a statement on Monday that Irish tropical fruits producer Fyffes had granted it a waiver to negotiate with Cutrale and Safra. Chiquita's planned Sept. 17 shareholder meeting to vote on the Fyffes deal was postponed until Oct. 3, the statement added.Chiquita, which agreed in March to merge with Fyffes to create the world's biggest banana supplier, will review the Safra-Cutrale bid, the statement added. While management continued to support the Fyffes deal, Chiquita wants to join discussions that lead to 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. One source with knowledge of the deal told Reuters last month that Safra and Cutrale would struggle to convince Chiquita's board to accept the offer in the first place since the deal's potential benefits were not immediately clear for investors.
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 traded higher by 1.45% or $0.2/share to $13.95. 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 128559.
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