US-based Dole Food has entered into an agreement to be taken private by the company's chairman of the board and CEO David H Murdock, in a deal valued at $1.2bn.
Under the agreement, Murdock will pay $13.50 in cash for each share for all the outstanding shares of common stock which are not already owned by Murdock or his family. As of June, Murdock and his family owned about 40% of Dole stock.
The new proposal represents an increase of $1.50 from Murdock's earlier offer in June a premium of 32% over the $10.20 per share price of the stock immediately prior to such proposal. According to the company, the new proposal places the total enterprise value of Dole at approximately $1.6bn, including debt.
The deal will be financed through a combination of cash and equity contributed by Mr. Murdock, as well as financing that has been committed by Deutsche Bank, Bank of America and The Bank of Nova Scotia.
The transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including approval by at least a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock held by stockholders of Dole other than Mr. Murdock and his affiliates.
In June, Dole Food announced that it received an unsolicited proposal from David H Murdock to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock which are not already owned by Murdock or his family for $12 per share in cash.
Murdock entered into the fresh produce business in 1985, when he acquired the nearly bankrupt Hawaiian firm Castle & Cooke, which owned pineapple and banana producer Dole Food.
In 2003, Murdock took Dole Food private for $2.5bn; however, he took the company public in 2009, by selling shares at $12.50 each, which valued the company at more than $1bn at that time.
Dole Food, based in Westlake Village, California, is one of the world's leading producers and marketers of fresh fruit and vegetables, with 2012 revenues from continuing operations of $4.2bn.