Jacobs Douwe Egberts is merging with Peet’s Coffee, its American competitor that is also owned by the JAB Holding Company. The idea is to introduce the merger company to the stock exchange.
Biggest IPO of 2020?
There is rumour of an IPO in 2020, with a preference for the Amsterdam stock exchange, according to the Financial Times. The flotation could be one of the largest in 2020, worth three billion euros. JAB Holding Company says it will keep a controlling share of the new company.
The merger company will be named JDE Peet’s and will have an annual turnover of seven billion euros as a result of activities spread over 140 countries. Casey Keller, the current CEO of Peet’s Coffee, has been given the role of CEO of the merger company. Frederic Larmusea, who is the current head of Jacobs Douwe Egberts, will stay on in an advisory capacity.
Further consolidation
The move seems to be a logical consequence of JAB’s consolidation strategy, which took Douwe Egberts away from the stock market and American owner Sara Lee in 2013, before merging it with Mondelez subsidiaries Jacobs and Carte Noire. In recent years, JAB has invested more than forty billion euros in coffee-related acquisitions like catering formulas Pret a Manger and Krispy Kreme, and now it would seem the holding group wants to reap the rewards.
JDE Peet’s also stands stronger united against the competition of world leader Nestlé. Jacobs Douwe Egberts has been number two on the market for years.
