Dole raises its target for IPO to $575 million

Dole Food Co., the world’s largest producer of fresh fruit and vegetables, amended its initial public offering to say it might raise about $575 million, up from $500 million.

Dole, which sells fresh bananas and pineapples, packaged spinach and canned fruit, plans to sell 35.7 million shares at $13 to $15 a share, according to a regulatory filing Friday. The underwriters have the option to purchase as many as 5.4 million additional shares.

The Westlake Village company initially said it planned to raise about $500 million when it announced the stock sale in August.

Proceeds will repay $451 million in debt and a prepayment penalty of $17 million, the filing said. The shares will trade under the ticker DOLE.

Goldman, Sachs & Co., Bank of America Corp., Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo Securities will underwrite the offering, according to the filing.

Dole was taken private in 2003 by Chairman David Murdock in an offer that valued it at about $2.5 billion at the time. Murdock rescued the company, founded in Hawaii in 1851, from bankruptcy more than two decades ago.