This international firm is the investment arm of the billionaire Reimann family business, based in Luxembourg. It has been taking on a number of restaurant chains in recent years, making long-term investments with acquisitions that are seemingly growing in size.
Last year, the firm made headlines with a surprise purchase of Panera Bread for $7.5 billion, one of the highest prices ever paid for a restaurant company. Concentrating on the coffee and bakery spaces, JAB has not been shy about buying competing concepts: It bought both Caribou Coffee and Peet’s Coffee in 2013, and more recently acquired bagel chains Einstein Noah Restaurant Group and Bruegger’s. It then acquired Krispy Kreme in May 2016 for $1.35 billion, 19 times the chain’s earnings that year.
It’s not stopping its foodservice investments at restaurants. The firm has invested in the coffee maker Keurig, which recently agreed to take control of Dr Pepper Snapple Group.