Irish fruit plc Fyffes is to be sold to Japanese giant Sumitomo in a deal worth €751m (£630m). This will see two of the largest banana companies in Asia and Europe joining forces. The McCann family, who still own almost 12% of the business, will pocket almost €87.5m in the deal. Shares jumped 48% on the announcement that shareholders will receive €2.23 per share in cash.

Fyffes has been on the acquisition trail this year, where it added two mushroom businesses in Canada in deals worth almost €140m, as part of a wider strategy to diversify its business away from its core banana operations.

This recent takeover comes two years after Fyffes and US rival Chiquita abandoned plans for a merger that would have created the world’s largest banana company.