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(Reuters) - Chiquita Brands International Inc (N:CQB) said Brazilian juice maker Grupo Cutrale and investment firm Safra Group's sweetened offer was not superior to its proposed merger with Irish rival Fyffes Plc (I:FFY), which the banana producer's shareholders will put to a vote on Friday.
Chiquita will only continue discussions with Cutrale-Safra, if its shareholders do not approve the merger with Fyffes, the company said in a statement.
Cutrale-Safra raised its all-cash offer to $14.50 per share (9.0326 British pounds) from $14 on Thursday, valuing Chiquita at about $682 million.
Fyffes and Chiquita said recently that the implied value of their potential deal ranged from $15.46-$20.01 per share.
Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services said on Thursday that although it was reluctant to change its recommendation before the vote, Cutrale-Safra's revised offer might be "more compelling to some shareholders". The firm had earlier recommended the merger with Fyffes.
Chiquita's shareholder meeting is scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Chiquita's shares rose 0.6 percent to $13.84 in premarket trading.
(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bangalore; Editing by Simon Jennings)