Starbucks + Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) is taking on the fast-growing single serve market, by teaming with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) that holds a dominant share of the U.S. market at about 80 percent owing to several patents surrounding its K-cup. Reuter, Green Mountain

Shares of Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) touched a new 52-week high of $38.21 on Thursday, while Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) stock touched an all-time high of $62.37. Green Mountain and Starbucks announced a strategic relationship.

The Seattle, Washington-based Starbucks will make and sell its coffee and Tazo brand tea via Green Mountain's K-Cup portion packs for use in the Keurig single-cup brewing system.

The Waterbury, Vermont-based Green Mountain will also make available the Starbucks K-Cup portion packs through food, drug, mass, club, specialty and department store retailers throughout the U.S. and Canada beginning in the fall of 2011.

Further, The Starbucks K-Cup portion packs will be made available through Green Mountain's consumer-direct websites beginning in 2012. Early in 2012, Starbucks stores will begin selling Green Mountain's Keurig brewers, apart from its coffee and tea pods.

The new relationship will provide Green Mountain with the additional choice afforded by having Starbucks branded coffees available for their brewers. Further, Starbucks stated goals of expanding its presence in premium single-cup coffee, making its premium coffees available to consumers.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Larry Miller listed out several options available to Starbucks for entering the single serve market: create and sell its own machines and single serve coffee, license Green Mountain's K-cup technology, or sell its own K-cup after Green Mountain's patents expire around mid-2012.

Following the news, Starbucks stock gapped open sharply higher Thursday at $37.05 compared to previous day's close of $34.54. The stock touched a new high of $38.21 during Thursday's trading. The stock closed Thursday's regular trading up 9.93 percent at $37.97 on a volume of 36.10 million shares on the NASDAQ stock market. The stock traded between $22.50 and $38.21 during the past 52 weeks.

Green Mountain stock gapped open sharply higher Thursday at $55.54 compared to previous day's close of $43.64. The stock touched a new 52-week and a life-time high of $62.37 during Thursday's trading. The stock closed Thursday's regular trading up 41.41 percent at $61.71 on a volume of 42.35 million shares on the NASDAQ stock market. The stock traded between $21.83 and $62.37 during the past 52 weeks.

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