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Mission Produce closes Calavo Growers acquisition

Mission Produce closes Calavo Growers acquisition

Money Moves

Two of North America's largest avocado distributors combine into one company at a moment of record US demand.

June 8th, 2026: Calavo expected to be delisted from Nasdaq

Overview

Mission Produce just bought its biggest US rival. The combined company now packs, ripens, and distributes a dominant share of the avocados Americans eat each week.

The deal closed at $26.05 per Calavo share, valuing the target near $430 million. It folds together two Ventura County, California companies that have competed for almost four decades. The combined firm sources avocados from Mexico, Peru, Colombia, and California, and owns four Mexican packinghouses.

Why it matters

Two of the largest US avocado distributors are now one company, just as Americans are eating record amounts of guacamole.

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Key Indicators

$430M
Deal value
Total transaction value combining cash and Mission stock paid to Calavo shareholders.
2.87B lbs
US avocado imports in 2025
A record volume, up 7% from 2024 per USDA trade data.
83%
Mexico share of US avocado supply
Mexico shipped 2.24 billion pounds of US avocado imports in 2025.
$25M
Targeted annual cost synergies
Mission expects to capture this run-rate within 18 months of closing.
80.3%
Mission shareholder ownership
Legacy Mission holders own 80.3% of the combined company; Calavo holders own 19.7%.

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People Involved

SB
Stephen J. Barnard
Stepped down as CEO in April 2026; chairs the board
 John Pawlowski
John Pawlowski
Took CEO role in April 2026; running Calavo integration
 Lee E. Cole
Lee E. Cole
Retired December 8, 2025
 B. John Lindeman
B. John Lindeman
CEO role ends with the closing of the Mission Produce deal

Organizations Involved

Mission Produce
Mission Produce
Public Company (Nasdaq: AVO)
Acquirer; parent of combined company

California-based global distributor of Hass avocados, mangoes, and blueberries.
Calavo Growers
Calavo Growers
Public Company (Nasdaq: CVGW, delisting June 8, 2026)
Acquired; now a wholly owned Mission subsidiary

Avocado and prepared foods distributor founded as a California grower cooperative.
Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE)
Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE)
Mexican Federal Antitrust Authority
Cleared the deal on May 22, 2026

Mexico's federal competition regulator, equivalent to the US Federal Trade Commission.

Timeline

January 1924 June 2026

11 events Latest: June 8th, 2026 Showing 8 of 11
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Calavo expected to be delisted from Nasdaq

    Latest Corporate

    Nasdaq suspended Calavo trading on May 28 and is expected to delist the shares by June 8.

  2. Acquisition closes; Calavo becomes Mission subsidiary

    Today Deal Close

    Mission Produce completed the acquisition. Calavo holders received $26.05 per share, split into $14.85 cash and 0.9790 Mission shares.

  3. Mexico's COFECE clears the deal

    Regulatory

    COFECE granted antitrust approval, satisfying the last regulatory condition for closing.

  4. Calavo shareholders approve the merger

    Vote

    12.1 million Calavo shares voted yes against 960,000 no. A separate advisory vote on executive compensation did not pass.

  5. US HSR antitrust waiting period expires

    Regulatory

    The Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period expired without a federal challenge, clearing the US antitrust gate.

  6. Mission and Calavo announce merger agreement

    Deal

    Mission Produce agreed to acquire Calavo for about $430 million in cash and stock. Boards of both companies approved the deal.

  7. Calavo CEO Lee Cole retires; Lindeman takes over

    Leadership

    Cole stepped down after his second stint as CEO. Board member and former CFO B. John Lindeman succeeded him.

  8. Mission Produce IPOs on Nasdaq

    Corporate

    Mission listed on Nasdaq under ticker AVO, becoming a public competitor to Calavo.

  9. Calavo members convert co-op to public company

    Corporate

    After 78 years as a cooperative, Calavo members voted to merge into a new public corporation generating $220 million in annual revenue.

  10. Steve Barnard founds Mission Produce

    Origin

    Barnard launched Mission Produce in Oxnard, California with a single packing house operation.

  11. Calavo founded as California grower cooperative

    Origin

    Ten California growers formed the California Avocado Growers' Exchange, later renamed Calavo through a member contest.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

December 2013 – June 2015

Sysco-US Foods merger blocked (2015)

Sysco agreed in December 2013 to buy US Foods, the second-largest US foodservice distributor, for $3.5 billion. The FTC sued in February 2015, arguing the combined company would control roughly 75% of national broadline foodservice distribution. A federal judge granted the FTC's injunction in June 2015, and Sysco walked away days later.

Then

Sysco paid US Foods a $300 million break fee. US Foods went public on its own in 2016.

Now

The block established that federal regulators would challenge food distribution mergers that crossed clear concentration thresholds. Sysco pivoted to smaller bolt-on deals.

Why this matters now

Mission-Calavo cleared the HSR waiting period without a federal challenge, in part because avocados are a narrower product category and the combined firm faces import competition from many smaller distributors.

March 2014 – January 2015

Chiquita-Fyffes merger collapse (2014)

Chiquita Brands and Irish banana distributor Fyffes announced a March 2014 merger that would have created the world's largest banana company. Brazilian juice group Cutrale-Safra made a hostile counter-bid in August. Chiquita shareholders rejected the Fyffes deal in October 2014, and Cutrale-Safra bought Chiquita outright for $1.3 billion in January 2015.

Then

Chiquita went private under Cutrale-Safra ownership. Fyffes was later acquired by Japan's Sumitomo in 2016.

Now

The episode showed hostile counter-bids could disrupt friendly fresh produce consolidation, and that family-controlled commodity buyers were willing to act.

Why this matters now

Mission's friendly deal closed without any competing bid emerging, despite Calavo's depressed share price and active turnaround story. No private commodity buyer surfaced.

November 1998 – July 1999

Cargill–Continental Grain merger (1999)

Cargill agreed in November 1998 to buy the grain trading business of rival Continental Grain. The combined firm would have handled roughly 40% of US grain exports. The Department of Justice required divestitures of river elevators and export terminals in nine markets before clearing the deal in July 1999.

Then

Cargill divested specific facilities to satisfy DOJ. The deal closed mid-1999.

Now

Cargill cemented its position as the largest US grain merchant. The remedy-with-divestiture template became a standard tool for clearing concentrated agricultural mergers.

Why this matters now

Mission-Calavo cleared HSR without any divestitures required, a lighter regulatory outcome than the Cargill template, despite operating in a similarly concentrated category.

Sources

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Investing.com GlobeNewswire FreshFruitPortal Mission Produce FOX 11 Los Angeles Calavo Growers Yahoo Finance FreshFruitPortal FreshFruitPortal