U.S. fruit and vegetable producer, Dole Food Co Inc, led by 94-year old David Murdock, filed with regulators on Tuesday for an initial public offering, four years after it was taken into private ownership.
The California-based company — once the world's largest producer of fruits and vegetables — was taken private by Murdock in 2013 in a $1.2 billion deal following a four-year run as a publicly-listed company.
The sale came as Dole struggled to generate profits amid volatile demand and low prices for bananas, its highest selling product.
Since Dole's sale to Murdock, the fruit producer has cut costs, sold non-core assets, improved its supply chain and diversified its product lines, the company said in its IPO paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company generated $4.51 billion in revenue last year, but posted a net loss of $23.7 million. That compares with a loss of $144.5 million and revenue of $4.25 billion in 2012 — the year before Dole went private.
Dole filed for an IPO of up to $100 million of its common stock. The amount a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different. Net proceeds from the offering will be used to pay down debt and for other expenses, Dole said.
