Banana empire in the offing

Ireland will become home to the world’s biggest banana firm following a £602million merger of Dublin tropical fruit supplier Fyffes and US rival Chiquita.

New fruit and salad giant ChiquitaFyffes will be based in Dublin

The new business, 000 people globally including around 4,000 in the UK and Ireland and hold a 14 per cent share of the world banana market.

Chiquita shareholders will own 50.7 per cent of the business following the all-stock deal. Fyffes investors will hold 49.3 per cent.

It will be headquartered in Ireland and listed in New York, losing its main share listing in Dublin and its secondary listing in London. It rose 32p to 107p.

Famous for its blue-sticker labels, Fyffes said its executive chairman David McCann would become boss of the merged business.

He said: “We believe we will be able to use our joint expertise and geographic coverage to develop a business that can run smoothly and efficiently to better partner with our customers and suppliers.”

Agencies

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