Chiquita Announces Joint Venture With Danone

CINCINNATI, March 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (NYSE: CQB) today announced a joint venture with Danone to market fruit beverages based on Chiquita's Just Fruit in a Bottle® platform in Europe.  Chiquita's partnership with Danone establishes an alliance between two companies whose values and product portfolios represent a rich legacy of bringing branded, innovative, healthy foods to consumers around the world.  In only four years, Chiquita's Just Fruit in a Bottle® product has become a market leading brand of fruit smoothie in Europe with distribution in 12 countries, generating approximately euro 20 million of sales in 2009.  The joint venture will provide Chiquita a new platform to expand its successful branded fruit beverage products in a more effective manner to achieve profitability.

"Chiquita's partnership with Danone leverages both firms' complementary strengths and will enable us to expand Just Fruit in a Bottle much faster and more efficiently across Europe, substantially increasing revenues and profitability," said Fernando Aguirre, chairman and chief executive officer.  "Combining our iconic brand equity, sales expertise, and strong supply chain management with Danone's complementary geographic presence and its world-class nutrition research and development capabilities will allow us to make our best innovation in Europe bigger, better and more profitable faster."

Under the agreement, Chiquita and Danone will become financial and operational partners in a new joint venture managed by Danone and headquartered in Paris as the exclusive distributor of Chiquita Just Fruit in a Bottle® and all future Chiquita branded beverage products in Europe.  Chiquita will provide local sales, marketing and supply chain services.  

"We are excited to partner with Chiquita in providing consumers with healthy, fruit-based, fresh products," said Bernard Hours, co-chief operating officer of Danone.  "The combination of Danone healthy European footprint together with Chiquita's operational expertise in fruit-based drinks will create exciting growth opportunities."

Danone is a global leader in healthy food products. The agreement with Danone builds upon Chiquita's innovation program to create new synergies that strengthen the company's long-term profitable growth and competitive position. Through this partnership, both companies will extend their category leadership and capabilities in retail and convenience channels.  

Chiquita will receive a one-time cash payment for a 51 percent interest in the joint venture and license its trademark to the new entity and expects the transaction to be immediately accretive to earnings.  Full financial terms have not been disclosed.  The agreement will be fully executed once approved by European regulatory authorities and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2010.  Chiquita and Danone are committed to a seamless integration with no impact to customers and suppliers.

About Chiquita Brands International, Inc.

Chiquita Brands International, Inc. is a leading international marketer and distributor of high-quality fresh and value-added food products – from energy-rich bananas and other fruits to nutritious blends of convenient green salads.  The company markets its healthy, fresh products under the Chiquita® and Fresh Express® premium brands and other related trademarks.  With annual revenues of $3.5 billion, Chiquita employs approximately 21,000 people and has operations in nearly 80 countries worldwide.  For more information, please visit www.chiquitabrands.com.

About Danone

Danone is a Fortune 500 company and one of the most successful healthy food companies in the world.  Its mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible.  Fulfilling this mission is a major contributor to Danone's continuous rapid growth.  Danone, with 160 plants and around 80,000 employees, has a presence in all five continents and over 120 countries.  In 2009, Danone recorded euro 15 billion in sales.  Danone enjoys leading positions on healthy food in four businesses: fresh dairy products (n degree 1 worldwide), water (n degree 2 on the packaged water market), baby nutrition (n degree 2 worldwide) and medical nutrition.  Listed on Euronext Paris, Danone is also ranked among the main indexes of social responsibility: Dow Jones Sustainability Index Stoxx and World, ASPI Eurozone and Ethibel Sustainability index.

SOURCE Chiquita Brands International, Inc.