It has been reported that Fyffes has received an almost €183 million equity injection from Sumitomo, the Japanese group that owns the banana-maker.
According to the Irish Times, the group received the money to replace parental borrowings and lower its overall debt level.
Excessive Debts
The Irish Times cited recently lodged documents that show Summit Fresh Produce Ltd, Fyffe’s parent company’, bought €182.7 million of new shares in the group at the end of May.
The funds have been used to return Fyffe’s borrowings from Sumitomo in a debt-for-equity swap.
Last year, the banana maker’s debt level increased by about €100 million from €185 million at the end of 2017.
Sumitomo wholly acquired Fyffes in February 2017, in a deal said to be worth an estimated €751 million.
In order to reduce gross borrowings at the time, the Japanese group sold its 30% stake in property company Balmoral International Land Holdings.
Sumitomo inherited the stake as part of its takeover of the banana maker.
Fyffes is one of the top importers of bananas, and the leading marketer of organic and Fairtrade bananas to Europe.
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
