USA: Peabodys Coffee Agrees to Acquire 22 Drive-Thru Locations

By Company Press Release | 29 June 2000

Peabodys Coffee Inc., (OTCBB:PBDY) announced that it has entered in to a non-binding Letter of Intent to acquire the specialty coffee assets of Caffe Diva Group, Ltd., a Portland, Oregon based specialty coffee retailer and roaster. "This is a win-win deal for both sets of shareholders," said Ron Davis, president and CEO of Caffe Diva, Ltd, "Substantive operating synergy will result from combining our operations, and, at a stroke, we will have a broader base in the rapidly growing US specialty coffee market. Prior to the recent acquisition of Arrosto Inc., Peabodys' core business has been the institutional specialty coffee market in California and Nevada. Caffe Diva provides further coffee roasting and wholesaling operations, along with twenty-two drive-thru locations in six states. "Caffe Diva gives us an important entry into the fast growing drive-thru market and an excellent coffee roasting operation," said Todd Tkachuk, president and CEO of Peabodys. "Ron Davis will also significantly strengthen our management team in preparation for further rapid growth." No terms of the deal were disclosed. "This is another piece in the jigsaw," said Director Barry Gibbons, former Burger King chairman/CEO. "There is an opportunity - right here and right now - for another major player to take the stage in the US specialty coffee market. Our goal is nothing less than that." This release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect management's view only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.