Douwe Egberts will soon be in American hands after US drinks manufacturer Keurig Dr Pepper announced it will be acquiring the coffee brand’s parent company, JDE Peet’s, in a deal involving €15.7 billion (R322 Billion). To give you an idea of how hot coffee is right now, Adidas is valued at €16.6 billion.
JDE Peet’s is mostly known for its several coffee and beverage brands, including L’Or, Pickwick, Senseo, and Douwe Egberts.
The company, which has clashed with several supermarkets over coffee prices recently, is listed on the Amsterdam Midkap, the stock exchange for medium-sized companies in the Netherlands. With a market cap of almost €13 billion (R267 billion), the company employs around 2,100 people in the Netherlands, including staff at their Amsterdam headquarters.
The company reported revenue of €8.8 billion last year, with a global workforce of over 21,000 people, though it recently announced plans to close a coffee production facility in Banbury, England, affecting 160 employees.
The buyout by an American company might not be so foreign, as Keurig Dr. Pepper has a significant footprint in Holland as well. Grocery store shelves often include products from Lavazza, Canada Dry, and Schweppes. Both Dr. Pepper and 7-Up brand sodas have also become more visible, and the company has partnership deals with Starbucks, Lipton, Illy, Dunkin’, Bigelow, and Celestial Seasonings.
With the acquisition, Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) aims to create a “global coffee leader” that spans “all coffee segments, channels, and price points,” the company said in a press release on their website.
“Today’s announcement marks a transformational moment in the beverage industry, as we build on KDP’s disruptive legacy by creating two winning companies, including a new global coffee champion,” said Keurig Dr Pepper CEO Tim Cofer.
“Through the complementary combination of Keurig and JDE Peet’s, we are seizing an exceptional opportunity to create a global coffee giant.”
Shares in JDE Peet’s surged on news of the takeover, which would have been nice for those who kept an eye on the markets (and ears on the ground).
Coffee prices are already out of hand, and though we will never turn to Ricoffy, we just don’t like the sound of “global coffee giant”.
NLTIMES/News Agencies