Dole plc announced that it will sell its Fresh Vegetables Division to an affiliate of Fresh Express Inc. for gross proceeds of approximately $293 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments, according to a release from the company. Fresh Express is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chiquita Holdings Limited.
This division sources whole produce from farms across the United States, and its four processing plants produce whole vegetables, including iceberg, romaine, leaf lettuces, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, asparagus, artichokes, green onions, sprouts, radishes and cabbage, as well as salads and meal kits. The division reported revenue of $1.28 billion at the end of 2021, and it employs more than 3,000 people.
“With this transaction, we want to combine our best practices across food safety, freshness of produce, mechanization, automation and innovation to offer rapidly expanding choices of safer and healthier produce products to the consumer,” said Jose Luis Cutrale Jr., chairman of Chiquita Holdings. “This combination will ultimately help drive growth in the entire produce industry and support higher demand for our valued produce-grower base in California, Arizona, Colorado, Florida and across the entire USA.”
Net proceeds from the sale are expected to be used by Dole primarily for debt reduction. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
