By Emily Ford
eford@salisburypost.com
David Murdock, founder of the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis, will still control Dole Food Co. even after the company sells 35.7 million shares of stock in an upcoming public offering, according to a regulatory filing.
Dole said it expects to price the stock at between $13 and $15 a share.
Murdock, 86, bought the company six years ago and has been its lone shareholder. He’s taking the the world’s largest fruit and vegetable producer public in an effort to raise about $500 million and pay off some of the company’s extensive debt.
After the public offering, Murdock will own 59 percent of the company.
“Mr. Murdock and his affiliates will, for the foreseeable future, have significant influence over our management and affairs, and will be able to control virtually all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and significant corporate transactions such as mergers or other sales of our company or assets,” Dole said in its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
Read Thursday’s Salisbury Post for more details.