Chiquita Brands Commences $425M Senior Notes Offering

Chiquita Brands International, Inc.

today announced that it proposes to offer $425 million aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes due 2021 in the United States to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and outside the United States to certain non-U.S. persons in accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act.  The notes and the related subsidiary guarantees will not be registered under the Securities Act and may not be offered or sold in the United States without registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements.  The net proceeds from the offering, together with borrowings under a new $200 million asset-based revolving credit facility to be entered into by the company concurrently with and conditioned upon closing of the note offering, will be used to repay its current credit facility, consisting of a $150.0 million senior secured revolving credit facility (of which $40 million was outstanding, excluding letters of credit, at December 31, 2012) and $305.3 million remaining at December 31, 2012 under a senior secured term loan due 2016, and to repay the $106.4 million outstanding of its 7 1/2% Senior Notes due 2014.