July 5, 2005

Chiquita Completes Acquisition of Fresh Express

Chiquita Brands International has completed its previously announced acquisition of the Fresh Express unit of Performance Food Group, according to a company release in late June. Fresh Express is the retail market leader in value-added packaged salads in the United States. The acquisition will increase Chiquita’s annual revenues by about $1 billion, according to the company.

“Fresh Express fits well into our sustainable growth strategy as we continue to focus on satisfying the primary consumer needs of health, taste and convenience,” said Fernando Aguirre, Chiquita’s chairman and chief executive officer. “The acquisition, which we expect to be accretive in the first 12 months, will help us diversify our business and improve the quality of our earnings.

“Chiquita and Fresh Express bring complementary, best-in-class business practices and proprietary technologies that will add value across the supply chain. We expect this to result in increased sales, reduced costs and strong bottom-line performance for Chiquita as well as our trade customers.”

For more information, visit www.chiquita.com.






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