Brazilian juice maker Cutrale and investment firm Safra Group today raised a definitive offer to acquire Chiquita, a day ahead of a meeting where shareholders of the US-based banana producer will vote on a merger with rival Fyffes.
Cutrale-Safra sweetened the all-cash offer to $14.50 per share from $14 on October 15, valuing the company at about $682m.
The offer represents a premium of 14% to Chiquita's closing price yesterday.
Shares of Chiquita posted their largest intraday jump since August 11, rising as much as 8.6% in New York.
In a statement, Cutrale-Safra said the offer would remain open until October 26.
It added that there could be no assurance that the proposal would be extended or a new one would be made even if Chiquita's special meeting on Friday is "adjourned, postponed, suspended, placed into recess, cancelled or delayed."
Chiquita will carefully review and consider the revised Cutrale-Safra offer, it said in a statement.
A successful bid would expand billionaires Joseph Safra and José Luis Cutrale's share of the world tropical fruit market and their negotiating clout with supermarkets.
Chiquita and Fyffes agreed to merge in April to create the world's biggest banana supplier.
According to the statement, the updated offer represents "the highest comparable transaction multiple for an acquisition of this scale in the fresh produce sector based on the EBITDA multiples of comparable transactions."
Shares of Chiquita have shed two-thirds of their value over the past decade in the face of geopolitical instability in Latin America, price volatility and uneven demand for fresh produce around the world.
Chiquita, Fyffes, Fresh Del Monte Produce and Dole Food control the $7 billion banana market.
Investors including Merrion Capital Group, which oversees $1.6 billion in assets, have said that only a bid of about $15 a share could persuade Chiquita's board and shareholders to side with Cutrale-Safra.
Fyffes and Chiquita recently said the implied present value of their deal ranges from $15.46 to $20.01 a share.
Cutrale-Safra's senior management team and legal and financial advisers will remain available to discuss the revamped offer with Chiquita's board, the statement added.
