<p style="text-indent:0px; line-height:12px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Westlake Village, CA-</span><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">By ANUK Staff<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">3.5.13</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/hl_dole_sep_2012_BANNER.jpg" alt="images030513" /><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Dole Food Company will gain nearly $1.7 billion in cash this April, as the company completes the sale of its Asian fresh produce and its worldwide packaged foods operations to the Itochu conglomerate. Itochu’s purchase includes the exclusive rights to the Dole brand in Asian fresh produce and packaged food products worldwide.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The company has retained its fresh fruit operations in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Africa and its fresh vegetable business in North America. The completion of the sale will turn Dole into a more focused company retaining a significant scale in fresh fruits and fresh vegetables with a rich asset base and a $4.2 billion range in overall revenue, according to Dole Chairman David H. Murdock.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The transaction will substantially reduce Dole’s debt: the company plans to use part of the $200 million non-refundable deposit paid by Itochu to repay debt. The remainder will be used for general corporate purposes and some expenses related to the transaction. The sale will also result in a cost savings of $50 million resulting from the streamlining of Dole’s corporate structure global personnel.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> The sale puts Dole in a strong position to explore growth opportunities in the fresh produce business. Additionally, if Dole acts on its intention to sell 21,800 acres of Hawaiian land holdings, the company could gain another $175 million to $200 million.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">More acquisitions could be in Dole’s future. In October 2011, the company acquired SunnyRidge Farm, which contributed to a 10% increase in fresh vegetable sales during the 2012 third quarter. In March 2012, Dole acquired Mrs. May’s Naturals, from which Dole drew successful product launches in this year’s third quarter, according to Arturo Cuevas, Investment Analyst.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">For the nine months ending October 6, 2012, the company posted net revenues of $5.03 billion, down from the $5.69 billion of the comparable previous nine-month period. Its 2012 nine-month net income totaled $68.8 million ($0.78 EPS), up from $38.1 million ($0.43 EPS) a year earlier.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://beta.fool.com/darttanyan001/2013/03/02/dole-poised-new-era-growth/25648/" target="_new">Dole Food</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
