Highline is a fully integrated mushroom business with five facilities in Ontario and Quebec. It is the largest operator in the mushroom industry in Canada, marketing approximately 58 million pounds (26.3 million kg) of mushrooms per year.
It is not the first company and kind of business, that came up to everybody's mind when Fyffes' Chairmann announced last month that they were "actively pursuing a number of attractive acquisition opportunities."
Although it may seem an unexepcted move, Fyffes stays in the same industry, explains a spokesperson of the company. "It is not a tropical product, but a similar business," he said aiming at the supply chain.
"Highline is a very fine business with a strong position in an important product category," commented Fyffes Chairman David McCann. "This transaction fits perfectly with Fyffes' strategic objective of adding an additional product to its existing three through the acquisition of an established, successful, integrated operator in a category with significant scale."
Highline's experienced management team, led by CEO Glenn Martin, will continue to run the business. "We couldn't be more excited about this transaction and joining Fyffes, given its long history and successful track record of growth," stated Highline's CEO. "We already operate some of the most state-of-the-art mushroom facilities in North America, and this arrangement will give us access to a global market leader in fresh produce."
All of Highline's five Canadian locations will remain in operation with business as usual for Highline's 1150 employees.