European fresh produce giant Total Produce has announced that it has completed an agreement to acquire a 65 per cent majority shareholding in Vancouver-based Oppenheimer Group.
The deal will be completed in two stages over five years, with the acquisition of an initial 35 per cent of Oppenheimer's shares secured and a further 30 per cent to be acquired in 2017 at a price to be determined based on future profits.
According to Total Produce, Oppenheimer's current chairman, president, CEO and majority shareholder John Anderson will continue to head up the organisation and will still hold 35 per cent of shares after the 2017 transaction, while Enza maintains its 15 per cent ownership of The Oppenheimer Group's US business.
The Canadian group, which rebranded itself as Oppy last year, has 13 sales offices across Canada, the US and Chile, sourcing over 100 varieties of fruit and vegetables from more than 25 countries and delivering to retailers, wholesalers and foodservice operators.
"The acquisition continues the international expansion of Total Produce and represents an important entry into the North American market," the group said in a statement. "The alliance positions both groups to benefit from the global scale of the combined operations. Total Produce expects the investment to be earnings-enhancing from the date of completion."
