Fruit distributor Total Produce is to pay up to €15 million to buy half of Dutch company Frankort & Koning Beheer Venlo and its subsidiaries.

Total Produce is to pay an initial €6 million for the stake and an additional sum rising to €9 million will be paid over the coming years if the firm meets specific profit targets.

Frankort & Koning - which operates primarily in the Netherlands, Germany and Poland – recorded turnover of €296 million last year and has booked an average after tax profit of €2.7 million over the last three years.

The deal is subject to regulatory clearance and the current Frankort & Koning management team had agreed to remain in place, Total Produce said in a statement to the Irish Stock Exchange.

“Total Produce expects the acquisition to be earnings enhancing from the date of completion,” it continued.

Total Produce chief executive Carl McCann said the acquisition would help to increase Total's presence "in key European markets".