Chiquita Brands International Inc. Gets $14/Share Bid From Cutrale-Safra

Chiquita Brands International Inc.'s

proposed merger with Fyffes PLC got further called into question Wednesday by a sweetened bid from a Brazilian group seeking to take Chiquita private. Brazilian fruit juice wholesaler Cutrale Group and Safra Group, a banking company, boosted their joint bid for Chiquita 7.7 percent to $14 a share in cash, from the $13 a share offered in August. Chiquita, Charlotte, N.C., had rejected the earlier offer and has continued with a plan to buy the Dublin-based banana company Fyffes for more than $500 million in a deal unveiled in March. Cutrale-Safra on Wednesday called its latest bid is "more favorable" to the Chiquita shareholders than the proposed combination with Fyffes. Chiquita had earlier set an Oct. 2 deadline for a revised bid from Cutrale-Safra, which it permitted to perform due-dilligence in an examination of Chiquita's accounting records. Although Chiquita said Tuesday that third-quarter sales would beat expectations, Cutrale-Safra said the news suggests Chiquita faces trouble "in meeting its stated 2014 targets, based on historical performance." Cutrale-Safra called its latest bid "definitive" and said the price represents "assessment and analysis of Chiquita's current condition and prospects" based on an examination of Chiquita's books. Chiquita traded recently at $13.65 a share, up 3.7 percent. got a $14 a share definitive offer from a