Dole Commences Initial Public Offering

Dole Food Company, Inc. announced the launch of its initial public offering of 35.7 million shares of its common stock, in a move that hopes to raise about $500 million to help pay off company debts. Dole priced the shares in the offering at $13 to $15 a share. The Westlake Village-based company has applied to have the shares of common stock approved for listing on The New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “DOLE”. The company was public until 2003, when owner and real estate magnate David Murdock bought the company out and took it private in a $1.4 billion deal. With a net worth of $4.4 billion Murdock has been the firm’s sole stockholder since the company went private. Murdock, 86, became Dole’s chairman and chief executive officer in 1985. He has been chairman, CEO and director of Castle & Cooke Inc. in Hawaii since October 1995. Murdock is also the owner of the Four Seasons Westlake Village, an executive health resort, and was the developer of Lake Sherwood, an upscale golf course and country club near Westlake Village that has hosted the high-profile World Challenge golf tournament, a benefit for the Tiger Woods Foundation. Dole has not said when shares will hit the market. Dole intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to pay down debt, including an $85 million tab remaining from the Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village. Andrea Alegria