Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include additional details and comments from Brewster Heights Packing & Orchards, better known as Gebbers Farms.
One of Washington’s largest tree fruit producers has signed a letter of intent to purchase a fellow industry titan out of bankruptcy, which would create one of the largest fruit companies in the United States and control nearly a quarter of the Northwest’s sweet cherry volume.
In a news release on Friday, June 5, Legendary Fruit Co. announced the letter of intent to purchase Brewster Heights Packing & Orchards, better known as Gebbers Farms. Gebbers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 4 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
Gebbers has secured debtor-in-possession financing sufficient to continue to fund all operational needs — including payroll and employee benefits; orchard, packing and storage operations; logistics and transportation; grower program support and procurement of operational inputs — the company announced in a news release to Good Fruit Grower on Friday, June 5.
The company took this deliberate step to provide the financial framework needed to address the balance sheet, preserve operations and position the business for long-term success, CEO Daniel Gebbers said in the release.
“Our orchards are producing. Our packing operations are running. Our teams are in the field,” he said. “Every customer order, every grower relationship and every employee commitment continues exactly as before. This is not the end of BHPO — it is the beginning of a stronger chapter.”
The financing, secured prior to the bankruptcy filing, is subject to court approval.
With the letter of intent, Legendary Fruit assumes the role of stalking horse partner, subject to court approval, setting the floor price for the sale.
Gebbers Farms will conduct a competitive, court-supervised marketing process to identify additional interested parties, with the goal of maximizing value for all stakeholders and exiting the situation stronger, according to the Gebbers release.
Whether any other interested buyers will come forward remains to be seen.
Under the arrangement, Legendary Fruit, which has facilities in Chelan and Wapato, Washington, would purchase most of the Gebbers assets through the court-supervised sale.
If finalized, the combined companies would have more than 15,000 acres of land and exclusive rights to produce and market the apple brands SugarBee, Rockit, Lucy Rose and Lucy Glo. The new business would produce annually about 12 million boxes of apples, approximately 9 percent of Washington’s volume, and 4.5 million boxes of cherries, roughly 24 percent of the 2026 volume projected for Washington and four neighboring Northwest states.
“The Gebbers name is the preeminent name in Northern Washington for apples, pears and cherries,” said Steve Clement, CEO of Legendary Fruit, in the company’s news release. “We have known and worked with the team there for many years — not only as respected operators in our industry, but as neighbors who share the same commitment to excellence that guides our own business.”
Legendary Fruit is owned by International Farming, a North Carolina agricultural investment company.
Shipments and brands should look the same, Clements said in the release. Marketing company Chelan Fresh will continue to sell Gebbers fruit, while CMI Orchards will continue to market Legendary Fruit products outside of the Gebbers acquisition “with no changes to those current programs and customer relationships,” he said.
In court documents, Gebbers reported assets and liabilities between $100 million and $500 million and between 50 and 99 creditors.
The merger is a symptom of an economically stressed tree fruit industry, said Jon DeVaney, president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association.
“The industry has been saying it is under extreme pressure from rapidly increasing costs and flat to declining pricing, and this demonstrates that we are not exaggerating,” he said in a written statement to Good Fruit Grower. •
