A giant Australian produce company has been formed with the merger between Melbourne-based Premier Fruits Group and the country's largest banana grower-marketer LaManna Group.

The combined company, which will initially continue to trade as two separate entities, will have total sales of more than AUD$500 ­million a year, according to local media Theaustralian.com.au.

The move is reported to be a key part of Premier Fruits' expansion plans to grow nationally and internationally, moving it closer in scale to Australia's largest produce wholesaler, Costa Group.

The story said the exact details of the transaction were unclear, but that the new group's chief executive and head of Premier Fruits, Anthony Di Pietro, insisted it was a merger rather than a takeover.

LaManna owns extensive banana farms in North Queensland, according to Theaustralian.com.au.

The company markets bananas for its growers across the country's major city wholesale fruit markets, as well as through supermarkets Coles, Woolworths and Aldi.

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