EXHIBIT 99
NEWS
Costa Rica International, Inc. Contact: Mauricio Marenco
95 Merrick Way, Suite 507 (305) 476-1757
Coral Gables, FL 33134
COSTA RICA INTERNATIONAL, INC. ACQUIRES CORPORACION AS DE OROS, S.A., THE
SECOND LARGEST POULTRY PRODUCER IN COSTA RICA
Acquisition Will Give Costa Rica International
Nearly 69 Percent Share of Costa Rican Poultry Market
MIAMI, FL, March 6, 1998 - Costa Rica International, Inc. (Nasdaq: RICA)
today announced that it has reached an agreement with Commercial Angui,
S.A., the majority shareholder of Corporacion As de Oros, S.A., Costa
Rica's second largest poultry producer, for Costa Rica International to
acquire 51 percent of the outstanding voting stock of As de Oros for U.S.
$2.4 million in a two-year promissory note and U.S. $2.6 million in Costa
Rica International stock.
In conjunction with the agreement, Costa Rica International has completed a
private placement of U.S. $20 million of 11.71% notes, comprised of U.S. $8
million of Series A Senior Notes due January 15, 2005, used to partially
re-finance the debt of the Company's subsidiary, Corporacion Pipasa, and
U.S. $12 million of Series B Senior Notes due January 15, 2005, used to
substantially re-finance the outstanding debt of As de Oros. The Notes are
payable annually with the initial payment to begin in 2001. The placement
agent for the offering was Citicorp Securities, Inc. of New York, N.Y. The
Notes have been assigned a "BB" rating by Duff & Phelps.
As de Oros, which has a share totalling approximately 19 percent of the
Costa Rican poultry market, had 1997 revenues of approximately U.S. $40
million. In addition to the production and marketing of poultry and poultry
by-products, As de Oros is one of the leaders in the Costa Rican animal
feed market. As de Oros also owns Costa Rica's popular chain of chicken
restaurants, Restaurantes As de Oros S.A., which As de Oros plans to sell,
in order to focus on its core business.
"These transactions will accomplish two very important tasks: first, to
restructure our debt at more favorable conditions, thus improving our cash
flow; and second, to move us further along the path of becoming one of the
leading suppliers of poultry and poultry by-products throughout all of
Central America," said Calixto Chaves, chairman and chief executive officer
of Costa Rica International. "We will substantially increase our customer
base and will have nearly 69 percent of the Costa Rican poultry market."
Costa Rica International already controls and operates Corporacion
Pipasa, S.A., Costa Rica's largest producer and marketer of poultry
products and one of that country's largest corporations, with fiscal year
1997 sales of more than U.S. $70 million and assets in excess of $38
million. For the first quarter of fiscal 1998, the Costa Rica
International's net sales grew 23 percent, to $20.8 million, from $16.9
million in the first quarter of fiscal 1997; net income grew nearly 30
percent, to $659,725, from $509,128 in the 1997 first quarter; and earnings
per share increased 41 percent, to $0.031, from $0.022 in the 1997 first
quarter.
Corporacion Pipasa produces and markets the popular Pipasa and Kimby
poultry brands, among others, throughout Costa Rica and other countries in
Central America. Recently, Costa Rica was recognized by the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) as being free of Newcastle, a common
poultry disease; Costa Rica and Chile are the only two Latin American
countries receiving such USDA recognition. Corporacion Pipasa also was
selected recently by McDonald's to be its poultry supplier for all
McDonald's restaurants throughout Central America. Corporacion Pipasa's
Website address is HTTP://WWW.CRICA.COM:80/BIZ/PIPBRAND.HTML.