North American based company Village Farms has completed its conversion from an income trust into a publicly listed corporation. The new corporate name is Village Farms International Inc.
The company will continue trading on the TSX with the symbol VFF on January 5, 2010.
The greenhouse grower, marketer, and distributor of tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers said the conversion would allow for greater access to equity capital markets and eliminate growth restrictions as an income trust.
Village Farms and many other income trusts have converted back into a corporate structure after federal finance minister Jim Flaherty announced in 2006 that income trust distributions would be taxed the same as corporate dividends by 2011. He also placed growth limits on business trusts.
The Village Farms name change is a corporate change only and has no impact on operations. The company will continue sales and marketing efforts under the brand name Village Farms. As for corporate operations the name will remain in the US as Village Farms, L.P., and in Canada the name will remain as Village Farms Canada, L.P.
Source: Village Farms International Inc.