Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc announced on Monday that it is set to be acquired by a unit of JAB Holding Co for approximately $1.35 billion. If pushed through, this deal would make the doughnut maker private.
This the latest acquisition made by the investment company. It has been vigorously acquiring food, retail and consumer companies in the past few years. This included the acquisition of single-serve coffee machine maker Keurig Green Mountain for approximately $13.9 billion in late 2015.
The holding company has offered $21 per share for Krispy Kreme, representing a 25 premium to the company's Friday trading close.
A news releases from the two companies on Monday indicated that the doughnut maker will continue to operate independently from its present headquarter in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The key theme for JAB's numerous acquisitions is coffee. It has been acquiring coffee chains and coffee makers around the world including Peet's Coffee & Tea, Baresso Coffee A/S, and Caribou Coffee Co.
Owned by the Reimann family, JAB Holding's coffee empire is one of the country's biggest firms, and now it wants to add some high-calorie food to its product offerings - doughnuts from Krispy Kreme.
With the announced acquisition on Monday, the company is setting a collision course that will pit it with one of the largest coffee chains in the country - Starbucks Corp.
All eyes will now be focused on the holding company which has been compared to 3G Capital of Brazil headed by Jorge Paulo Lemann. JAB is presently guided by four Reimanns, Wolfgang, Stefan, Renate and Mathhias. They are currently on a four-year buying spree in which they have spent approximately $30 billion wresting controlling stakes in different companies.
"They've been slowly amassing a pretty big umbrella of breakfast- and coffee-oriented brands, and so Krispy Kreme slides underneath that umbrella pretty easily," said Will Slabaugh, a Stephens Inc. analyst.
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