Based in Delano, Wonderful Citrus is one of the brands under The Wonderful Co., owned by Los Angeles billionaires Lynda and Stewart Resnick.

The purchase of DNE World Fruit, DNE International and the assets of World Pack Cold Storage, a division of DNE Imports, makes Wonderful Citrus the No. 1 importer of counter-seasonal citrus products in the U.S., and also doubles the company’s grapefruit position, according to a news release.

As part of the transaction — the terms of which were undisclosed — Wonderful Citrus is acquiring DNE’s citrus marketing and import business, along with World Pack’s cold storage, bagging, repack and distribution center in New Jersey.

“The addition of DNE and World Pack to the Wonderful Citrus family significantly enhances our ability to serve customers year round with a variety of fresh citrus offerings,” said David Krause, president of Wonderful Citrus, in a statement. “We’re thrilled that this makes us the top grapefruit distributor in America and allows us to serve as the exclusive marketer for all of DNE’s Florida citrus.”

DNE provides marketing services for six packers of premium fresh Florida citrus — operating as the sales arm of Bernard Egan & Co., which was founded in 1914 and owns, farms and harvests more than 12,000 acres of citrus groves.

“Wonderful Citrus is a well-respected leader within the fresh citrus industry,” said Greg Nelson, president of DNE World Fruit. “The opportunity to significantly expand our sales reach and access new markets was a very attractive part of this deal. We look forward to teaming up with Wonderful to better leverage our collective strengths in the global citrus marketplace.”

DNE’s sales employees will be offered positions with Wonderful Citrus, and Nelson will stay on with the company as an advisor.