The seed behind our initial buy tip for Fyffes (FFY) has borne fruit. We proffered back in January 2015 that the banana and melon company would be a key takeover target in an industry ripe for consolidation. And last week witnessed an all-cash offer from Swordus Ireland, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation.
Fyffes has recently been the acquiror, having snapped up Canadian mushroom business Highline Produce for €99m (£83.4m at the time) but has now become the target of a €2.23 (£1.87) per share cash offer recommended by the company. This represents a 49 per cent premium to the closing price on 8 December and a 2 cents final dividend will also be paid. The price being paid is 37 per cent higher than the company's all-time high share price.
