Greenhouse vegetable grower converts from income trust

Village Income Farms, Ontario, Canada, has completed its conversion from an income trust into a publicly listed corporation, Village Farms International Inc. It continues trading on the TSX with the symbol VFF.
The greenhouse grower 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 converted back into a corporate structure after Canadian 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 new rules were aimed at preventing possible corporate income tax losses since income tax trusts pay relatively little income tax since they distribute the bulk of their profits to unitholders.
Village Farm operates distribution centers located in key markets in the United States and Canada.