More banana drama as Chiquita rejects Brazilian offer to make way for Fyffes tie-up
Chiquita has finally told a pair of Brazilian companies their takeover just isn't a-peeling enough for it to give up on its Fyffes bid.
The US banana company rejected the all-cash offer for $14.50 a share by juice maker Grupo Cutrale and investment firm Safra Group, saying it would rather focus on a mooted merger with Irish rival Fyffes.
Yesterday, Cutrale and Safra raised their offer from $14 a share to $14.50, valuing Chiquita at more than $1.3bn (£810m) including debt.
But today Chiquita said it "continues to believe in the long-term value of the ChiquitaFyffes merger and does not believe… the offer from Cutrale/Safra is superior to the potential combination".
The company will hold a meeting for shareholders to vote on its merger with Fyffes later today. If they vote against the deal, "the board intends to continue discussions with Cutrale/Safra", it added.