Two Brazilian companies bid for banana brand Chiquita

Brazil-based juice maker Cutrale Group and investment firm Safra Group have bid £363m ($610.5m) for banana brand Chiquita in a cash offer valued at $13 a share.

The bid follows a proposed agreement between Chiquita and Fyffes, an Irish fruit firm.

The bid reflects a 29% premium to the banana company’s closing price on 8 August. Following the offer, Chiquita’s share prices in New York, US, rose 31%, while Fyffes’ plunged 15% in London, UK.

An announcement in March stated that a merger was in the offing between Chiquita and Fyffes, with Chiquita shareholders owning 50.7% of ChiquitaFyffes and Fyffes shareholders owning approximately 49.3%.

The $1bn merger would make Chiquita the largest banana brand in the world.

Supporting their proposal, the Brazilian firms stated that their offer is more favourable to Chiquita shareholders than the proposed merger with Fyffes.