Board members of a major western Canadian fruit processor have struck a committee to consider an offer that would turn the company private.
Sun-Rype Products of Kelowna, B.C., said June 28 that Great Pacific Industries, part of the Jim Pattison Group that includes grocery and auto sales companies, has offered to buy all issued common shares in the publicly traded juice and fruit snack producer.
Great Pacific is already Sun-Rype’s majority shareholder. It proposes to buy the remaining 46 percent of shares at $7.50 a piece, putting the value of the takeover at about $37 million. Shares in the former co-operative rose to a high of $7.55 July 2 from less than $6.
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In 2012, Sun-Rype reported sales of $152.8 million, up from $147.5 million the previous year. Net income was $1.3 million, compared to net loss of $5.7 million in 2011.
The company has said sales in the shelf-stable juice category, in which Sun-Rype derives about 60 percent of its net sales, have been softening. The company plans to introduce new products in the second half of the year to revive market interest. It also plans to widen its geographic distribution.
Sun-Rype expects to negotiate with Great Pacific in the coming weeks.
Agreement is subject to shareholder and regulator approval.
B.C. Fruit Growers Assoc. started the company in 1946. It went public in 1996. It sells its products across Canada and has operations in the United States.
