Coffee and tea giant JDE Peet's, owned by German conglomerate JAB Holding, has edged a step closer to its much-anticipated IPO, with the announcement that the European Commission has approved the business' governance structure.
According to the firm, the Commission's decision 'satisfies all remaining EU anti-trust requirements for JAB with respect to the anticipated IPO'.
JAB Holding previously stated that it expected the IPO to be completed 'sometime during 2020'.
A Beverage Powerhouse
Last December, JAB Holdings, which owns both Peet's Coffee and a majority stake in Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), announced plans to combine the two businesses, to create a coffee and tea powerhouse present in more than 140 countries, with revenue of approximately €7 billion.
The merger would see the coming together of Peet's Coffee, a leading US-based premium coffee brand, with international names including L’OR, Jacobs Coffee, Douwe Egberts, Senseo, Tassimo, Moccona, Kenco, Pickwick and Pilão.
Leadership
The JDE Peet's business is led by Casey Keller, the former CEO of Peet's Coffee, who also previously headed up the Wrigley gum business at Mars, and was president of Alberto Culver's USA operations.
Commenting at the time of the merger announcement, he said, “JDE Peet’s is an exceptional business with some of the most beloved coffee brands in the world, and I am excited to lead the company in its next phase of growth.
"With our leading positions in many important markets, supported by all the great people in our organisation, we are well-positioned to continue achieving strong long-term growth”.
Building A Business
JAB bought the Peet's Coffee brand in 2012 for $977.6 million, and followed that up with the purchase of Douwe Egberts for $9.8 billion a year later.
In 2014, it teamed up with Mondelez International to merge the Jacobs brand with Douwe Egberts, with Mondelez retaining a 26% stake in the combined entity.
In a statement, JDE Peet's said that it is 'the world's largest pure-play coffee and tea group, serving approximately 130 billion cups of coffee and tea in 2019 in more than 100 countries in both developed and emerging markets'.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
