TOT.L Regulatory News (TOT)

2 Oct 2007 07:01

Total Produce Plc02 October 2007 Total Produce plc Stock Exchange Announcement Total Produce and Blackrock form JV to acquire Dublin lands Total Produce plc is pleased to announce that it has formed a new 50:50 jointventure company with Blackrock International Land plc which has agreed toacquire 135 acres of land in Dublin for a total outlay, including costs, of €25million. The lands are located at The Ward in north Co. Dublin, close to the new N2motorway which links the M50 interchange at Finglas to Ashbourne. Just over 36 acres of the lands are zoned for agri-business use, 20 acres ofwhich have been targeted for the initial development of new facilities for TotalProduce and replacement premises for its existing operations in central Dublin.Under the joint venture agreement, Total Produce has an option to acquire these20 acres at cost, such option to be exercised during a maximum period of tenyears from completion of the transaction. The remaining 99 acres are well placed to take advantage of the significantdevelopment expected to take place in this area of north Dublin over the nextfew years. Total Produce's share of the acquisition cost is €12.5 million. Threerepresentatives from each company have been appointed to the board of the jointventure company, including Rory Byrne, chief executive of Total Produce andRobert Knox, managing director of Blackrock. The vendors of the lands are subsidiaries of Balkan Investment Company, acompany controlled by Neil McCann, which owns 10.6% of the share capital ofTotal Produce and 6.38% of the share capital of Blackrock. The joint ventureagreement and the agreements for the purchase of the lands have been negotiatedat arm's length. The joint venture company and the vendors engaged their ownseparate property advisors. Each of the parties also engaged their own separatelegal advisors. Commenting on the transaction, Total Produce's chief executive, Rory Byrne,said: "This strategic landholding is ideally located, close to all the maindistribution routes that serve both Dublin and the rest of Ireland. The purchasegives Total Produce access to the necessary land to relocate our existingoperations in central Dublin, to provide essential additional capacity for ourcustomers and, ultimately, to consolidate all of our Dublin-based operations ina single location. It also gives the company the opportunity to participate inand benefit from the significant future development anticipated in the northDublin area. We are delighted to be forming this joint venture with Blackrock,which has extensive experience in property development and in buildingfacilities specific to the fresh produce business." Total Produce plc2 October 2007 For further information, please contact:Fergal Meegan, Davy Corporate FinanceTel. +353 1 6796363 Brian Bell, WHPRTel: +353 1 6690030 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange