Krispy Kreme Doughnuts has agreed to be acquired for $1.35 billion by the German investment company that controls Peets Coffee & Tea, Caribou Coffee and the Einstein Brothers and Noah’s bagel chains.
The deal will add another food component to the sprawling breakfast portfolio of JAB Holding Co., whose most visible acquisition may have been its purchase last year of a controlling interest in Keurig Green Mountain, the coffee dispenser company, for about $13.9 billion.
JAB agreed to pay $21 a share for Krispy, or about a 25 percent premium over the doughnut chain’s closing stock price on Friday, according to the brand’s management.
Krispy Kreme said the deal has been approved by its board of directors. The company said it will operate as a separate company within the portfolio of JAB and will remain headquartered in Winston-Salem, N.C.
JAB holds a majority stake in a number of companies whose products are usually associated with breakfast. In addition to the Peets, Caribou, Einstein Brothers and Noah’s chains, it is the principal owner of Mighty Tea Leaf, Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, Stumptown Coffee, Espresso House and Baresso Coffee.
It is also an investor in the Jimmy Choo luxury shoe company.
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