Dive Brief:
- Brazilian investors Safra Group and Cutrale Group increased their takeover bid for Chiquita to $14.50 a share, or roughly $680 million.
- The new offer came Thursday, just hours before Friday's vote by Chiquita shareholders on its proposed merger with Ireland's Fyffes, which they rejected Friday morning.
- Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services late Thursday recommended Chiquita shareholders reject the Fyffes deal in favor of the Brazilians' takeover. The decision reversed the I.S.S. recommendation earlier in the week in support of the Fyffes deal.
Dive Insight:
This has been an exciting battle in the food business. We'll be sad to see it end. And it is ending - Chiquita is out of time. Safra and Cutrale say their latest offer expires Monday, which means Chiquita management will be under tremendous pressure to accept the Brazilian deal this weekend.