Cutrale and Safra make $611 million bid for Chiquita

Brazilian companies Cutrale and Safra have made a $611 million bid for American banana group Chiquita.

Juice maker Cutrale and conglomerate Safra have offered $13 a share, a 29% premium to Chiquita’s closing share price on Friday.

Chiquita shares jumped 31% in New York after the bid was announced.

The offer rivals the proposed merger between Chiquita and Irish fruit company Fyffes, announced in March. Shares in Fyffes fell 15% in London.

The merger would create the world’s largest banana company worth $1 billion.

However, the two Brazilian companies said their offer “is clearly more favorable to the Chiquita shareholders than the proposed merger with Fyffes”.

According to the United Nations, the global banana market is currently controlled by four companies, Chiquita, Dole Food Company, Fresh Del Monte and Fyffes.