Dole Food Company Inc. is selling its flowers division and fresh food subsidiary in England, the company announced. The proceeds of those sales plus the sale of its ripening and distribution business in France and land in the U.S. and Mexico will bring in $145 million. The sale of the flowers division is expected to take place in phases and close in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. Dole is selling its French holding to Compagnie Financiere de Participations, a company in which Dole holds a non-controlling 40 percent stake.
