Joh A. Benckiser, the investment firm based in Germany, took over its third coffee business in less than 12 months. The Reimann family investment arm agreed to pay $9.8 billion for D.E. Master Blenders. Based in Amsterdam and well known throughout Europe, Blenders is known for its brand Douwe Egberts.
The deal was sealed entirely in cash and valued shares of Master Blenders at $16.33 apiece.
Last year, JAB acquired Caribou Coffee based in Minnesota and Peet’s Coffee & Tea based in California in deals that were worth $340 million and $1 billion, respectively.
The Swiss analyst said that the coffee business is very stable and that is most likely why the Reimann’s are investing. He noted that the global retail coffee brewer is worth over $65 billion.
JAB has become known for acquiring a number of consumer brands and is owners of companies such as Derek Lam the apparel company and Jimmy Choo.
D.E. Master Blenders originated last year as a spinoff of Sara Lee, now named Hillshire Brands. The company based in the Netherlands is the world’s third largest coffee business and competes with Nestle and Kraft.
The board at Masters Blenders has given its seal of approval on the takeover, though the price is lower than the original share price of $16.55 from March when it announced it was in talks for a takeover.
