Dole Foods sells US headquarters for $50m

US-based Dole Foods, one of the largest fruit and vegetable producers in the world, has sold its 10 acre headquarters for $50 million (€42.7 million) to a charitable foundation.

The company, in which Dublin-listed Total Produce acquired a 45 per cent stake earlier this year, has sold its Los Angeles corporate campus to the Conrad N Hilton Foundation in an off market transaction.

The 168,000sq ft campus, at One Dole Drive, has been the company’s headquarters for the past 20 years and it will continue to occupy a portion of the building as a tenant of the Hilton foundation.

The Hilton foundation, meanwhile, has designated the land as its headquarters having been a tenant of Dole prior to the sale.

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CBRE, which acted on behalf of the seller, said One Dole Drive is a “truly unique property”.

"There is nothing like it in the entire market. Dole Foods has been a great contributor and employer in the City of Westlake. It's exciting to see that this property will be handed-off to such a distinguished family with an exceptional philanthropic mission."

Goodbody analyst Patrick Higgins noted that at the time of Total's acquisition of a 45 per cent interest in Dole, management indicated a number of non-core assets would be disposed of to improve the company's balance sheet.

“We estimated that these assets could be worth at least $150 million,” Mr Higgins said.