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January 28, 2008 |
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CHIQUITA BRANDS: May Bid for Five Million Boxes of Bananas Chiquita Brands International may bid for the five million boxes of bananas that Panama will auction next month, Reuters reports. Western Panamanian co-operative Coosemupar wants to auction some four million, 40-pound boxes of premium quality bananas to international buyers, and one million boxes of other qualities, Panama's commodity exchange chief Abelardo Carles told Reuters. Reuters relates that the auction would be on Feb. 14. It will mark the end of Coosemupar's long-standing distribution deal with Chiquita Brands that gave the firm the exclusive rights to by the crop. Coosemupar told Reuters that it seeks to sell bananas to European distributors. However, Chiquita Brands is unlikely to be excluded from bidding. According to Reuters, the sale accounts for around a quarter of Panama's yearly crop. It could bring in US$35 million. The sale is a significant quantity for large buyers although Panamanian banana production is small compared to Costa Rica and Colombia, Reuters states, citing Mr. Carles. Cincinnati, Ohio-based Chiquita Brands International Inc. (NYSE: CQB) -- http://www.chiquita.com/ -- markets and distributes fresh food products including bananas and nutritious blends of green salads. The company markets its products under the Chiquita(R) and Fresh Express(R) premium brands and other related trademarks. Chiquita employs approximately 25,000 people operating in more than 70 countries worldwide, including Colombia, Panama and the Philippines. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on May 16, 2007, Moody's Investors Service Ratings affirmed these ratings on Chiquita Brands International Inc.: (i) corporate family rating at B3; (ii) probability of default rating at B3; (iii) US$250 million 7.5% senior unsecured notes due 2014 at Caa2(LGD5, 89%); and (iv) US$225 million 8.875% senior unsecured notes due 2015 at Caa2 (LGD5, 89%). Moody's changed the rating outlook for Chiquita Brands to negative from stable. Troubled Company Reporter reported on May 4, 2007, that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services placed its 'B' corporate credit and other ratings on Cincinnati, Ohio-based Chiquita Brands International Inc. on CreditWatch with negative implications, meaning that the ratings could be lowered or affirmed following the completion of their review. Total debt outstanding at the company was about US$1.3 billion as of March 31, 2007. |
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