Company secures deal for eventual majority share in Eco Farms, a key supplier of avocados, citrus and exotics
Multinational fresh produce marketer Total Produce has made a significant investment in the North American fresh produce business with the acquisition of a 45% interest in Eco Farms, a grower, marketer and distributor based in Temecula, California.
Found in 1972, Eco Farms is primarily an avocado producer, but also grows and markets citrus as well as a range of exotics including cherimoya, dragon fruit, kumquats, kiwifruit and Asian pears.
Dublin-based Total Produce revealed the purchase at the same time as announcing strong half-year results for 2014, confirming that it had the option of acquiring further shares in Eco Farms in due course to give it a majority stake.
The move continues Total Produce’s expansion in North America following its recent acquisition of shares in major importer-distributor Oppy. The Irish firm currently has a 35% stake, but this is set to increase to 65% in 2017, with the price per share dependent on Oppy’s financial performance.
Elsewhere, Total Produce confirmed that its principal acquisition during the first half of 2014 was the remaining shares in Netherlands-based soft fruit specialist All Seasons Fruit (ASF), in which it already had a 50% holding.
That deal will be completed in three stages: an initial 20% shareholding was acquired on completion of the deal on 28 May 2014, with the balance to be acquired in subsequent years.