DUBLIN - At the beginning of last year, AndNowUKnow relayed the news that Dole plc would be selling its Fresh Vegetables Division to Fresh Express. Now, more updates have come to light regarding the acquisition. Dole plc recently announced that the company and Fresh Express have formed a mutual agreement to terminate the previously announced deal.

This termination is the result of the United States Department of Justice’s (DOJ) decision that it will pursue litigation to prevent the transaction, Dole explained in a recent press release.

“While Dole strongly disagrees with the Department of Justice’s decision and continues to believe that the transaction was pro-competitive and would have unlocked ongoing benefits to customers and consumers, we remain confident that we will have an alternative path forward in the near term that is in the best interests of the Fresh Vegetables Division’s employees, customers, and partners, and the Dole plc shareholders,” the company wrote in the release.

Packaged salad represents $3.2 billion in spending by grocers and their customers each year, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. To read the DOJ’s statement regarding the previously formed agreement, click here.

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