Dive Brief:
- Chiquita Brands International is weighing an unsolicited merger offer from Cutrale Group, a major supplier of orange juice, and Safra Group, a private bank.
- The companies would pay $13 in cash for each share in Chiquita, some 29 percent higher than the terms of the planned inversion merger with Fyffes.
- Chiquita shares soared on the news, pushing the value of the deal above $625 million. Shares in Fyffes dropped 14 percent.
Dive Insight:
We wish we could say we saw this one coming. But we're a surprised as everyone else. But now that the dust has settled a bit since the news broke, it's possible to look a little more deeply at the offer and say ... we're still surprised.
We'd never bet against Joseph Safra. And a combined Cutrale and Chiquita would be an interesting player with substantial interests across the produce world. But the Chiquita-Fyffes deal always seemed defensive in nature -- offering a tax break for Chiquita and creating a too-big-to-compete-against company in a troubled industry. But Cutrale and Safra apparently see potential in the banana game, just like tiny rival Banabay does.