David Murdock (1924-). In 1985 took-over nearly bankrupted Hawaii-based Castle & Cooke, which owned pineapple producer Dole and had a large real estate portfolio. Has profited handsomely from that transaction: developed real estate into residential and commercial properties; Dole Foods, the world's largest producer of fruits and vegetables, generates more than $135 million in free cash flow a year.
External links
Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People (http://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/10/2004/LIR.jhtml?passListId=10&passYear=2004&passListType=Person&uniqueId=BDKY&datatype=Person)
Murdock’s biggest job is heading Dole Food Co., the world’s largest fruit and vegetable producer with $3.8 billion in sales annually.
Murdock also is CEO of a host of other companies: Huntington Tile; Yankie Hill Brick; Murdock Development Corp., another real-estate company; Goettel, an air conditioning manufacturer; Wiscassett Mills, a yarn spinner; Flexi-Van Leasing, a truck-chassis lessor; Stair Co., Murdock’s antiques auction house; and Ventura Farms, where Murdock breeds Arabian horses.
Murdock just built a new house near Los Angeles on the farms where he tends his horses and roses and orchids.
Murdock's low-ball bid for Dole may ultimately prevail.
If money talks, then last week DavidMurdock, chairman of the Westlake Villagebased Dole Food Co., made the most explicit commentary possible that a skittish Wall Street is undervaluing stocks: He offered more than a 20 percent premium to buy the 75.9 percent of Dole that he doesn't already own.
By that measure, Murdock's bid is a tad on the low side -- and Wall Street early last week seemed to concur, with traders pushing Dole's stock up past $30 a share.
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