JAB snaps up Dr Pepper

Keurig Green Mountain, which is owned by private investment firm JAB, has purchased the US-based soft drink maker Dr Pepper Snapple Group. The US$21 billion purchase involves a special dividend of $103.75 per share to Dr Pepper Snapple shareholders. The two companies expect to find $600 million in cost savings through the merger. The acquisition is just the latest in a long list of purchases made by JAB over the past five years, which includes Douwe Egberts, a controlling stake in the coffee business of Mondelez International and a range of high-end roasters in the US such as Intellegentsia and Peet’s.