Stumptown Coffee Roasters agrees to Peet’s Coffee & Tea buyoutStumptown Coffee Roasters agrees to Peet’s Coffee & Tea buyout

Peet’s Coffee & Tea has agreed to acquire premium coffee roaster and retailer Stumptown Coffee Roasters, adding to the coffee brands within the portfolio of JAB Holding Co., announced Peet’s officials Tuesday.

Terms of the deal, scheduled to close in the fourth quarter, were not disclosed.

The 10-unit Stumptown, based in Portland, Ore., is owned primarily by private-equity firm TSG Consumer Partners LLC.

Peet’s is controlled by JAB Holding Co., an affiliate of private-equity firm Joh. A. Benckiser Group, based in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The company also owns the Caribou Coffee brand and Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc.

Stumptown officials, however, said the brand will maintain independence, while taking advantage of Peet’s resources and scale.

“Stumptown’s journey has been about creating a coffee experience that surpasses all expectations,” said Duane Sorenson, Stumptown’s founder, in a statement. “I’m excited and confident that Peet’s will continue to support our journey in a way that uniquely reflects who we are.”

Founded in 1999, Stumptown has coffeehouse locations in Portland, Seattle, New York and Los Angeles. An 11th coffee house location is scheduled to open in New Orleans in February 2016.

Stumptown is one of a growing number of “third wave” specialty coffee players offering a more-premium experience than the generation that includes Peet’s, founded in 1966, which paved the way for brands like Starbucks Corp.

Stumptown is known as a pioneer of the rapidly growing ready-to-drink, cold-brewed coffee market and the brand is primarily focused on its retail operation through wholesale and grocery channels.

Joth Ricci, Stumptown’s president, told Nation’s Restaurant News that coffeehouse growth will continue, but with the same slow and deliberate pace that it has kept so far.

“As we move to the new ownership, we’ll continue to evaluate coffeeshop opportunities, but treat it as a special extension of the brand, and selecting what markets we go into and when, the same way we always have,” he said.

“We’re really excited because both Peet’s and JAB Holdings believe strongly in each of their entities operating as stand alones,” he added. “Our founder is still with the company and the management team will stay intact, so we will continue to operate as we always have but with a new set of resources to do more.”

Emeryville, Calif.-based Peet’s was acquired by JAB Holding in 2012 in a $1 billion deal that took the chain private. A few months later, JAB also acquired Caribou Coffee in a $340 million deal. Last year, JAB also acquired Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc.

Joh. A. Benckiser also holds a stake in coffee and tea brand D.E. Master Blenders 1753.

Peet’s was among the top 10 fastest growing chains within the Nation’s Restaurant News Second 100 census this year. The chain ended fiscal 2014 with 238 units, an increase of 5.3 percent, and U.S. systemwide sales of $226.3 million, up 20.1 percent over the prior year.

Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected]
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