LUXEMBOURG — Investment firm JAB Holding Co. is acquiring Mondelez International’s stake in the coffee and tea company JDE Peet’s in a €2.16 billion ($2.34 billion) deal.

Under the transaction, announced Oct. 21, JAB will buy Mondelez’s 86 million shares in JDE Peet’s for €25.10 ($27.20) per share. Global snack giant Mondelez holds an approximately 17.6% equity interest in Amsterdam, Netherlands-based JDE Peet’s, while JAB holds a roughly 59.1% share.

In addition, JAB said it has distributed 43 million JDE Peet’s shares, representing 9% of the coffee company’s share capital, to more than 70 limited partners of JAB Consumer Partners (JCP), lifting JDE Peet’s public float to 32%.

With the purchase of the Mondelez stake and share distributions, JAB said its ownership share in JDE Peet’s will increase to approximately 68%.

“These transactions represent a major milestone for JDE Peet’s, which is now a more widely held blue-chip company,” said Joachim Creus, managing partner, vice chairman and chief executive officer at JAB Holdings. “JAB has strong conviction in the resilience of the global coffee sector and the long-term value creation prospects of JDE Peet’s. We are fully committed to remaining an anchor shareholder of the world’s leading pure-play coffee and tea company.”

JDE Peet’s coffee and tea brands include Douwe Egberts, Jacobs, Kenco, Peet’s Coffee, LQR Espresso, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Tassimo, Gevalia, Pickwick, Pilao, Intelligensia Coffee, OldTown White Coffee, Campos Coffee, Moccona, Super Coffee, Mighty Leaf, Senseo and Les 2 Marmottes.

JDE Peet’s was formed in December 2019 when JAB combined its Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) and Peet’s Coffee holdings into a single coffee and tea company, which was taken public via an initial public offering in May 2020. JAB acquired Peet’s in 2012 for nearly $1 billion and Douwe Egberts in 2013 for $9.8 billion, merging the latter in 2014 with Mondelez’s coffee business to create JDE. Chicago-based Mondelez spun off its coffee business to focus on its core snack food business.

JAB also is the parent company of Panera Brands Inc., whose coffee brands include Caribou Coffee and Espresso House, as well as the largest shareholder of Keurig Dr Pepper, whose coffee brands include Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Barista Prima Coffeehouse, Tully’s Coffee, The Original Donut Shop Coffee, McCafe, Revv, Café Escapes, Newman’s Own Organics and Van Houtte.

Earlier this year, JDE Peet’s acquired Caribou Coffee’s roasting operations in Minneapolis and entered into a global licensing agreement to manufacture and market Caribou consumer and foodservice coffee products.

JAB reported the transaction with Mondelez minutes after JDE Peet’s on Oct. 21 announced the hiring of Kraft Heinz Co. executive Rafael Oliveira as CEO and stand-in executive director, effective Nov. 1.

Back in August, JDE Peet’s had announced the appointments of JAB’s Peter Harf as interim chairman and JDE Peet’s chief financial officer Scott Gray as interim CEO, taking over from Luc Vandevelde, who had stepped down from those roles for a new post at JAB. Vandevelde was tapped as interim CEO in March upon the departure of CEO Fabien Simon and became chairman in May 2024, taking over from Olivier Goudet, who was named non-executive director.

Analyst: Mondelez may use proceeds for acquisitions

The share price that JAB is paying for Mondelez’s stake in JDE Peet’s signifies a 32% premium to the stock’s most recent close and will cut the snack maker’s “non-strategic” ownership to zero, according to TD Cowen analyst Robert Moskow He noted that Mondelez has sold small JDE stakes in recent years at €26 to €27 ($28 to $29) per share.

“We believe Mondelez will spend the $2.5 billion in gross proceeds on either share repurchases (about 2.5% of market cap) or bolt-on acquisitions or both, in line with its recent history,” Moskow said in an Oct. 21 research note. “Over the last four years, Mondelez spent on average $1.77 billion in repurchases and $1.81 billion in acquisitions per year. Mondelez funded these partly with proceeds from divestitures and equity stake liquidations averaging $2.18 billion per year during this time.”

Moskow cited Mondelez transactions such as Clif Bar in the United States and Ricolino candy in Mexico in 2022 and Chipita pastries in Europe in 2021.