Limoneira CEO on Bright M&A Outlook and the Avocado Wildcard

Limoneira CEO Harold Edwards says the citrus producer has a healthy M&A pipeline for 2015 and will focus on making strategic acquisitions as a way to grow its operations. ‘We’re in talks on $300 million in potential add-on acquisitions, mostly in California and Arizona and we’re hopeful that in 2015 we’re able to announce some exciting acquisitions.' In 2014, Limoneira made its first international investment with a minority stake in a Chilean firm as a way to reach its Asian customers faster. Edwards said, ‘Having a southern hemisphere production point for us will be very, very important especially as it relates to satisfying the market requirements in our southeast Asian markets, so Japan, Korea and now growing very rapidly, China. We’re able to supply that production from California and Arizona, but if you compliment it with production from Chile or from Argentina you’re able to bring a fresher piece of fruit into your supply chain, which our customers really want.’ While Edwards expects profits from citrus sales to remain good, he said the wildcard is avocados. An influx of imports from Latin America could weigh on what the company hopes to make from avocado sales. TheStreet’s Ruben Ramirez reports from Orlando.