The investor leading the deal for Keurig is quietly building a coffee empire (GMCR)
REUTERS/United Photos
The investor group that runs the biggest pure-play coffee company in the world just extended its reach.
JAB Holdings and its partners are spending $13.9 billion to buy home-brewing coffee company Keurig Green Mountain.
JAB chairman Bart Becht said in a statement: "Keurig Green Mountain represents a major step forward in the creation of our global coffee platform."
The company is the investment arm of the secretive Reimann family.
The family members behind JAB are Renate Reimann-Haas, Wolfgang Reimann, Stefan Reimann-Andersen, and Matthias Reimann-Andersen. They owe their wealth to Benckiser, which is now Reckitt Benckiser, a consumer products company which owns everything from Durex to Gaviscon
They are all descendants of Ludwig Reimann, a chemist who joined Benckiser shortly after it was founded by Johann Adam Benckiser in 1823. Reimann married one of Benckiser's daughters, and ended up owning the company after his death.
JAB continues to own a stake in Reckitt Benckiser. It also has a luxury arm which houses investments in Jimmy Choo, Belstaff and Bally, and owns perfume maker Coty.
JAB struck a deal in 2013 to buy D.E. Master Blenders 1753, and later agreed a deal with Mondelez International to combine their respective coffee businesses. That created Jacobs Douwe Egberts, which describes itself as the biggest pure-play coffee company in the world.
The holding company is led by three partners. Bart Brecht, a former CEO of Reckitt Benckiser, is chairman, while Olivier Goudet is CEO. Goudet is also chairman of Anheuser-Busch InBev. Peter Harf, a former chairman of Anheuser-Busch Inbev, is the third partner.
Business Insider breaks down JAB Holdings' massive portfolio in the java business:
JAB acquired Peet's Coffee and Tea in 2012.
REUTERS/Kimberly WhiteJAB Holdings acquired Peet's back in 2012 for about $1 billion.
It then did a deal for Caribou Coffee.
By mastermaq on FlickrJAB also runs Caribou Coffee Co., which it acquired in 2013 for $340 million. Caribou Coffee is based in Minnesota.
Next up was D.E Master Blenders 1753
D.E Master BlendersJAB struck a deal in 2013 to buy D.E. Master Blenders 1753, which had been spun out of Sara Lee Corp. a year earlier, for $9.8 billion.
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