Agribusiness Cutrale and the Safra investment bank have made a successful bid to buy North Carolina-based banana producer Chiquita in a deal valued at $1.3 billion, the companies said. Under an agreement approved by the Chiquita board of directors, Cutrale-Safra will acquire all outstanding common shares of Chiquita for $14.50 per share. The companies said the deal will involve a $680 million cash payment and Cutrale-Safra’s takeover of Chiquita’s outstanding debt. The deal came after Chiquita shareholders rejected an effort by the company to merge with Irish produce company Fyffe. Chiquita was founded in the 1870s with banana farming operations in Jamaica and Costa Rica, and currently employs 320 workers at its headquarters in Charlotte. Cutrale currently holds orange juice production and processing operations in Brazil and in Florida.