Krispy Kreme Doughnuts To Be Acquired For $1.35B By Luxemborg-Based Private Investment Firm

A unit of JAB Holding Co., which owns Keurig Green Mountain and other beverage, food and consumer brands, will buy Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (NYSE:KKD) for $1.35 billion in cash, the North Carolina bakery said Monday. Shares of the company soared 24 percent in afternoon trading to $20.92.

JAB Beech Inc. will pay $21 for each share of Krispy Kreme, which said it will continue to operate from its Winston-Salem headquarters.

JAB Holding is the investment arm of the Reimann family, heirs to German consumer goods conglomerate Joh. A. Benckiser, according to the New York Times. BDT Capital Partners LLC, which is run by Goldman Sachs alumnus Byron Trott, will be a minority partner in the acquisition.

The transaction is not subject to a financing condition and is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.

Krispy Kreme, which said it was postponing its scheduled June 14 shareholders meeting, was founded in 1937 and has more than 1,100 shops in more than 26 countries. On March 22, the company reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $8.2 million, or 13 cents per share, compared with $6.5 million, or 10 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue climbed to $130.4 million from $125.4 million. Adjusted earnings per share rose to 22 cents from 17 cents.

JAB Holding, which is run by Peter Harf, Bart Becht and Olivier Goudet, owns or holds stakes in Keurig Green Mountain, Jacobs Douwe Egberts, Coty Inc., Jimmy Choo, Bally, Belstaff, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Caribou Coffee Co., Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc. and Espresso House, the largest branded coffee shop chain in Scandinavia.