Owner of JDE eyes further acquisitions

The Chairman of JAB Holdings, the investment firm that owns the world’s second-largest coffee company, Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), has signalled his intention to continue his company’s expansion in the industry. Chairman Bart Becht has told the German daily newspaper Handelsblatt that JAB will be seeking more money from investors this year to fund the acquisitions. The funds raised would be used to buy companies in the coffee and cosmetics industries, Becht said. JAB became a major player in the coffee industry after purchasing Dutch roaster Douwe Egberts in 2013. They have gone on to snap up a long list of notable names in Europe and the US including Keurig Green Mountain, Krispy Kreme and Peet’s, to become the world’s second-largest player in coffee after Nestlé. In December 2017 JDE made headlines for an offer to buy Malaysian coffee company OldTown Berhad for US$361 million.