Juice maker Grupo Cutrale and investment firm Safra Group on Wednesday unveiled a definitive offer to acquire Chiquita Brands International Inc, in a new attempt to scuttle the U.S.-based company's plans to combine with Irish rival Fyffes Plc.Cutrale-Safra is offering $14 in cash per Chiquita share, valuing the company at $658 million, or 12.4 times annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization. Cutrale-Safra had initially bid $13 per Chiquita share in an unsolicited proposal presented on Aug. 11.A successful bid would turn billionaires Joseph Safra and Jos� Luis Cutrale into the global kings of breakfast by expanding their share of the world's tropical fruits market and their negotiating clout with supermarkets. Chiquita and Fyffes agreed to merge in April to create the world's biggest banana supplier.Cutrale-Safra's definitive offer represents premiums of about 40 percent to Chiquita's Aug. 8 closing share price and 19 percent to Chiquita's price based on revamped terms of the tie-up with Fyffes. Both companies will pay for Chiquita with equity from some of their subsidiaries, with Safra-controlled bank J. Safra Sarasin AG extending a buyback of Chiquita's senior secured notes due in 2021.
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 5.09% or $0.67/share to $13.83. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $9.24 and as high as $14.43. On average, 647874 shares of CQB exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1379781.
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