Keurig Dr Pepper has struck a deal to acquire Dutch coffee company JDE Peet's for €15.7bn ($18.36bn) and then split the combined business into two.
The US soft drinks company will pay JDE Peet's shareholders €31.85 per share in cash, a 33% premium to JDE Peet's 90-day volume-weighted average stock price.
Keurig Dr Pepper, the owner of the Keurig and Dr Pepper brands, subsequently plans to separate into two publicly traded entities named Beverage Co. and Global Coffee Co. “as soon as practicable following the close of the acquisition”.
As of 22 August, Acorn Holdings, an affiliate of European investment company JAB Holdings and some of JDE Peet's directors and officers, in aggregate, owned 69% of the voting share of JDE Peet's stock.
In February, JAB Holdings sold 73 million shares of Keurig Dr Pepper common stock and was still left with 10.7% stake. In May, JAB then sold another chunk of its stake, leaving it with a 4.4% shareholding.
In a joint statement, the companies announced the deal will create a “global coffee leader” operating in more than 100 countries with an “unparalleled” brand portfolio across coffee segments, channels, and price points.
Tim Cofer, CEO of Keurig Dr Pepper, described the deal as a “transformational moment in the beverage industry”.
He said: "Through the complementary combination of Keurig and JDE Peet's, we are seizing an exceptional opportunity to create a global coffee giant.
"This is the right time for this transaction, with KDP in a position of operational and financial strength, momentum across our evolved portfolio, and increasing coffee category resilience.
"By creating two sharply focused beverage companies with attractive and tailored growth propositions and capital allocation strategies, we are poised to generate significant shareholder value in both the near and long term."
Rafa Oliveira, the CEO of JDE Peet's, added that the transaction would deliver an “attractive premium for our shareholders” and create “compelling future growth opportunities for our employees, customers, and other stakeholders”.
With approximately $16bn in combined annual net sales, Global Coffee Co. is poised to become the “world's largest pure-play coffee company”, according to the statement.
Its global headquarters will be located in Burlington, Massachusetts, with international headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Beverage Co., based in Frisco, Texas, will operate as a “scaled challenger” in North America’s $300bn refreshment beverage market, with $11bn in annual sales, the company said.
Until the planned separation, the combined company will be led by Keurig Dr Pepper's management team, including Cofer and CFO Sudhanshu Priyadarshi.
Post-separation, Cofer will lead Beverage Co. and Global Coffee Co. will be headed up by Priyadarshi. Oliveira will continue as CEO of JDE Peet's until the acquisition closes.
Keurig Dr Pepper, formed in 2018 through the merger of Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper Snapple, owns brands such as Snapple, 7UP, and Green Mountain Coffee.
In October last year, the company agreed to acquire the Ghost energy drinks and lifestyle sports nutrition business for approximately $990m.
JDE Peet’s, listed in Amsterdam, was formed in 2019 through the merger of Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) and Peet’s Coffee.
In 2024, JDE Peet's reported €8.8bn in sales with brands such as Peet's, L'OR and Jacobs.
The acquisition comes weeks after JDE Peet's said it would look to “simplify” its product portfolio, focusing on ten brands, including L’Or and Jacobs.
In July, JDE Peet's said it is targeting €500m ($590.8m) in savings in its cost of goods sold and SG&A expenses under the strategy it has dubbed Reignite the Amazing.
