Investment Fund Snaps Up Pret A Manger

British sandwich and coffee shop chain Pret A Manger was sold for US$2 billion on Tuesday to an investment fund of Germany’s billionaire Reimann family, as part of a global acquisition spree aimed at challenging Nestle in the coffee sector.

The sale gives Pret founders Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham a final exit from their remaining investment in the chain they founded 32 years ago.

It also gives a windfall to Pret’s 12,000 staff as Chief Executive Clive Schlee said via Twitter they would each get a 1,000 pound bonus once the deal completes.

Pret, whose organic coffee and upmarket sandwiches such as crayfish and rocket proved popular enough to propel its growth from a single shop in London to a 530-strong global chain, generated revenue of 879 million pounds last year.

For Luxembourg-based purchaser JAB Holdings, the acquisition of a majority stake in Pret from private equity firm Bridgepoint and other minority investors is the latest in a multi-billion dollar series of takeovers designed to expand its coffee and beverage empire.

JAB has already bought Keurig Green Mountain and Peet’s Coffee & Tea, and Keurig subsequently struck a deal worth more than US$21 billion to combine with soda maker Dr Pepper Snapple Group.

JAB, whose owners the publicity-shy Reimann family are descended from Ludwig Reimann, a chemist who in the 19th century joined the chemicals business founded by Johann Adam Benckiser and married into Benckiser’s family, has also made a string of deals including for bakery chains Au Bon Pain and Panera Bread, as well as Krispy Kreme.

Nestle meanwhile recently boosted its position as the world’s biggest coffee company with a US$7.15 billion licensing deal with Starbucks. (Reuters)