Editing Dole plc (section)

===1970{{endash}}2000: Expansions, selloffs, and splits===
[[File:David H. Murdock 174-CD-L03-05-19B-006 (cropped).jpg|thumb|200px|David H. Murdock purchased Castle & Cooke in 1985 and split off Dole into its own company in 1996.]]
Ten years after its merger with Standard Fruit, Castle & Cooke acquired Bud Antle Inc., a [[California]]-based vegetable company.<ref name="LAT1">{{cite news |title=California marketers stalk big bucks in celery |last1=Keppel |first1=Bruce |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-08-fi-3155-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=8 October 1988 |accessdate=6 June 2022}}</ref><ref name="NYT2">{{cite news |title=The Big Business of Lettuce |last1=Crittenden |first1=Ann |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/11/27/archives/the-big-business-of-lettuce-growers-stress-brand-names-new.html  |work=The New York Times |date=27 November 1980 |accessdate=2 June 2022}}</ref> However, Castle & Cooke began to struggle financially and was purchased in 1985 by billionaire [[David H. Murdock]].<ref name="WSJ1">{{cite news |title=Dole Food Agrees to $1.2 Billion Buyout Offer |last1=Chaudhuri |first1=Saabira |last2=Jargon |first2=Julie |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323585604579008502351303672 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=12 August 2013 |accessdate=16 March 2022}}</ref> After the purchase, Dole began expanding its offerings by purchasing other food companies, buying several [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] fruit and nut producers and distributors between 1985 and 1990, including Bonner Packing Company in California and Wells and Wade Fruit Company in [[Washington (state)|Washington]].<ref name="Adweek1">{{cite news |title= Dole Wants The Whole Produce Aisle; Branded fruits and vegetables are turning the nation's supermarkets into Dole country |last1=Koepppel |first1=Dan |url= |work=[[Adweek]] |date=20 October 1990 |accessdate=}}</ref> Meanwhile, in Ireland, Fruit Importers of Ireland purchased [[Fyffes]] from [[Chiquita]] in 1986.<ref name="IT2"/>

In 1985, the Hawaiian island of [[Lanai]] passed into the control of Castle & Cooke, which was then the owner of Dole. High labor and land costs led to a decline in Hawaii pineapple production in the 1980s, with Dole phasing out its pineapple operations on Lanai in 1992.<ref name="lanai">{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-10-04-me-553-story.html|title='Pineapple Island' Residents See Way of Life Vanishing: Development: Farming is being phased out on Lanai and resorts are the new economic base. Many islanders prefer the old lifestyle.|last=Dipietro|first=Ben|work=Los Angeles Times|date=4 October 1992|language=en|access-date=8 May 2025}}</ref> 

Murdock separated Dole and Castle & Cooke in 1996, turning the latter into a [[real estate development]] company.<ref name="NYT3">{{cite news |title=Dole Looks to Return to Stock Markets, Again |last1=de la Merced |first1=Michael J. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/25/business/dealbook/dole-food-company-ipo.html |work=The New York Times |date=25 April 2017 |accessdate=17 May 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Dole freighter in San Juan, Puerto Rico.jpg|thumb|225px|Dole freighter sailing out of [[San Juan, Puerto Rico]]]]