CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Chiquita Brands International Inc. and the Cutrale and Safra Groups have announced the completion of the transactions under which Cutrale-Safra has acquired Chiquita via its affiliate, Cavendish Acquisition Corp.
Shares of Chiquita common stock will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
"We look forward to working with Chiquita to build the premier and most sustainable fresh produce platform in the industry," said executives of Cutrale-Safra. "The expertise of the Cutrale Group, one of the world's most highly regarded agribusiness and juice companies, and the extensive global relationships of the Safra Group will be important strategic differentiators for Chiquita. We are confident this combination will benefit customers and consumers of the Chiquita and Fresh Express brands around the world. We will focus with Chiquita on strengthening its businesses and brands, including Chiquita bananas and Fresh Express salads and snacks, and enable further success in this very competitive environment through investments in the brands and operations."
Chiquita will continue its ongoing strategic objective of refocusing the business on its core brands and strengths. As a result of this refocus and with Chiquita no longer a publicly owned company, Brian Kocher, COO of Chiquita, has assumed the position of interim CEO, succeeding Ed Lonergan. Rick Frier, executive vice president and CFO, will also be leaving the company.
The Cutrale Group includes global agribusiness operations including one of the world's leading orange juice processors for frozen concentrated orange juice and not-from-concentrate fresh juices. The global business operations include oranges, apples, peaches, lemons and soybeans. The operations have a vast network of farms, processing, technology, sourcing, distribution, logistics, marketing and trading of agriculture products.
The Safra Group, with total assets under management of more than $200 billion and aggregate stockholders equity of more than $15.3 billion, is controlled by Joseph Safra. The group consists of privately owned banks under the Safra name and investment holdings in asset-based business sectors such as real estate and agribusiness.
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