It has been announced Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) will acquire JDE Peet’s in an all-cash transaction, with plans to separate the companies into two independent, publicly traded businesses.
The first company, Beverage Co, will target North America’s refreshment beverages market, while the second, Global Coffee Co, will aim to be the world’s number one pure-play coffee company.
Upon separation, Tim Cofer will be CEO of Beverage Co and Sudhanshu Priyadarshi will be CEO of Global Coffee Co.
“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,” says Tim Cofer, CEO of Keurig Dr Pepper.
“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.”
Through the acquisition, the North American single-serve coffee platform aims to create a global coffee leader serving more than 100 countries with an “unparalleled brand portfolio across all coffee segments, channels, and price points”.
“We are excited to join forces with Keurig to chart the future of global coffee by leveraging our combined portfolio of the world’s most beloved coffee brands,” says Rafa Oliveira, CEO of JDE Peet’s.
“This highly complementary transaction will deliver an attractive premium for our shareholders and will create compelling future growth opportunities for our employees, customers and other stakeholders. We are incredibly proud of the formidable global platform that we have built at JDE Peet’s and, together with Keurig, we are looking forward to powering a new era of coffee innovation and leadership, building on JDE Peet’s recently announced ‘Reignite the Amazing’ strategy.”
On 24 August, The Wall Street Journal reported the deal to be worth US$18 billion.
