Irish multinational Fyffes has upped its stake in German importer Fruchtimport vanWylick by purchasing the shareholdings of Capespan and Gemüsering, thereby becoming a majority owner.

Fyffes first acquired a 33% stake in vanWylick in 2011, with Germany's Gemüsering and the Allerding family holding equal size shares. Capespan came on board in 2015, with each of the four partners holding a 25% stake.

Fyffes will now own 74% of the business and 26% will be held by the Allerding family.

This purchase strengthens the relationship between Fyffes and vanWylick and will enable Fyffes to deliver better services to its customers, it says.

With a turnover of around €272m (US$300m) and 300 employees, vanWylick handles over 300,000 metric tons (MT) of fresh produce annually, including eight million boxes of bananas. It also owns eight ripening facilities. 

vanWylick remains an independent operation and Fyffes will work with managing directors, Dirk and Jens Allerding, who will continue to lead the business.

The transaction is subject to merger clearance by the European Commission, DG Competition.