Dive Brief:
- Chiquita Brands International and Fyffes said the savings they expect from a proposed merger is some $20 million higher than earlier estimates.
- The announcement of additional synergies comes as the companies prepare for a special shareholder vote scheduled for Sept. 17 that will determine the fate of the merger, which would create the world's largest banana shipping company.
- Chiquita has rejected a takeover offer from Safra and Cutrale that would have derail the Fyffes deal.
Dive Insight:
$20 million in savings isn't, as they say, small change. But it may not make much of a difference to shareholders. There are, after all, much bigger issues here.
First, there's the fact that the Safre/Cutrale deal offers a considerable premium to what the Fyffes merger would. Second, there's no guarantee that European regulators would approve the merger. And third, the Fyffes deal is a tax-inversion plan - and those deals, which were not widely understood by U.S. consumers or politicians until recently, are now attracting considerable outrage.