Leading US citrus company Wonderful Citrus has announced the purchase of DNE World Fruit, the largest citrus marketer in Florida, DNE International, the largest citrus exporter in Florida, and the assets of World Pack Cold Storage, a division of DNE Imports.
As part of the transaction, Wonderful Citrus is acquiring DNE’s citrus marketing and import business, along with World Pack’s coldstorage, bagging, repack and distribution centre in New Jersey.
The acquisition, combined with existing operations, makes Wonderful Citrus the number one importer of counter-seasonal citrus products in the US, while doubling the company’s grapefruit position.
“The addition of DNE and World Pack to the Wonderful Citrus family significantly enhances our ability to serve customers year-round with a variety of fresh citrus offerings,” said David Krause, president of Wonderful Citrus. “We’re thrilled that this makes us the top grapefruit distributor in America and allows us to serve as the exclusive marketer for all of DNE’s Florida citrus.”
Greg Nelson, president of DNE World Fruit, noted that Wonderful Citrus is a well-respected leader within the fresh citrus industry.
“The opportunity to significantly expand our sales reach and access new markets was a very attractive part of this deal,' he added. 'We look forward to teaming up with Wonderful to better leverage our collective strengths in the global citrus marketplace.”
DNE’s sales employees will be offered positions with Wonderful Citrus and Greg Nelson will stay on with the company as an advisor.
