Merged coffee colossuses aim to lead market
MONDELEZ International and DE Master Blenders 1753 are set to merge their coffee businesses, with DE’s parent company in control, bringing the world’s second and third largest coffee firms together.
Mondelez said that the new venture would be the “world’s leading pure-play coffee company,” a veiled nod towards Nestle, the market’s largest force by sales.
The deal drove share prices in Cadbury-owning Mondelez up by eight per cent yesterday – the group will hang on to a 49 per cent stake in the new company, receiving $5bn (£2.95bn) from DE, and creating a firm called Jacobs Douwe Egberts with a combined revenue of around $7bn.
“By retaining a significant stake in the combined company, we’ll continue to benefit from the future growth of the coffee category and share in the synergies and tremendous upside of this leading, one-of-a-kind coffee company,” said Mondelez chief exec and chairman Irene Rosenfeld.
DE CEO Pierre Laubies is the prospective head of the newly merged entity. Between them, the groups own and run some of the most well-known global coffee products, like Carte Noire, Kenco and Douwe Egberts.