French firm plucks Dole division
Dole Food Co. said Sept. 20 that it was selling its ripening and distribution businesses in Spain and Portugal, known as Dole Spain, to the Compagnie Fruitière Group. Terms of the sale, expected to close in November, were not disclosed.
Westlake Village-based Dole holds a non-controlling 40 percent stake in Compagnie Fruitière. The other 60 percent of the French firm is owned by the Fabre family.
“This transaction is in the direct continuity of previous sales of our ripening and distribution businesses in France and England to Compagnie Fruitière in 2008. It will allow Dole and Compagnie Fruitière to better serve our Spanish and Portuguese markets, by providing our customers with an extended range of product origins and a more integrated sales policy,” Johan Linden, Dole Europe’s president, said in a news release.
The company did not provide further explanation of the sale. Dole shares were down 1.4 percent to $10.17 in late-afternoon trading on Sept. 20.
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