Chiquita Changes the Inversion Conversation With New Bidder From Brazil

Chief Executive

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Chiquita Brands International, the banana producer that is seeking an inversion with a $526 million deal for its Irish rival Fyffes, received an unsolicited offer on Monday from an unlikely pair of private companies. But it doesn't mean they will state in the United States.

The Cutrale Group, a wholesale orange juice supplier, and the Safra Group, a private bank, have offered to acquire all of Chiquita shares for $13 a piece, or about $611 million, representing a 29 percent premium to Chiquita’s closing share price on Friday.

The unexpected offer sets up a stark choice for investors: proceed with Chiquita’s inversion-driven growth plan or cash out now. Chiquita’s shares jumped more than 30 percent on Monday, to slightly above the offer price, as investors responded to the bid.

If Cutrale and Safra succeed in acquiring Chiquita, the Fyffes deal would not happen, scuttling one of the year’s inversion deals, in which a United States company reincorporates abroad through a deal, lowering its tax rate and freeing up overseas cash.

Read more: The New York Times


Chief Executive

Chief Executive

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