<p style="text-indent:0px; line-height:12px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;line-height:130%"> Westlake Village, CA</span><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">By Eric Anderson<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">4.1.13</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Dole Food Company has announced that its Asia Fresh and Worldwide Packaged Foods businesses have been sold to ITOCHU Corporation on April 1 for $1.65 billion in cash.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“This transformative transaction results from our comprehensive strategic review of Dole’s businesses announced May 3, 2012, aimed at enhancing shareholder value, and was approved by our stockholders December 6, 2012,” said David H. Murdock, Dole’s Chairman and CEO. “The Dole operations will no longer include the worldwide packaged foods and Asia fresh businesses, which for fiscal 2011 represented approximately 34% of Dole’s revenues and 56% of its operating income.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“The new Dole will have a smaller footprint as a commodity produce company with overall revenue in the $4.2 billion range with two lines of business: fresh fruit and fresh vegetables,” said David H. Murdock, Chairman.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> “Dole will remain an industry leader in the sourcing, distribution and marketing of bananas, pineapples and other tropical and deciduous fruits, packaged salads, fresh-packed vegetables and fresh berries,” said C. Michael Carter, President and Chief Operating Officer. “We are excited and very optimistic about the long-term future of the new Dole and its prospects.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">ITOCHU will have exclusive rights to the Dole® trademark on packaged food products worldwide and on fresh produce in Asia, Australia and New Zealand.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.dole.com/" target="_new">Dole</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
