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Kate Taylor and Yutong Yuan
- JAB Holding owns some of the most famous chains in the world, including Krispy Kreme, Panera, and Pret A Manger.
- On Wednesday, Pret A Manger announced it had reached an agreement to acquire British sandwich chain EAT.
- JAB is owned by the secretive German Reimann family, which has a net worth of at least $19 billion.
- Here is the breakdown of all the chains that JAB Holding owns.
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Krispy Kreme, Panera, Pret a Manger, and Peet's Coffee are some of the most beloved chains in America.
However, not everyone realizes that these chains are all owned by the same company.
JAB Holding is the investment arm of the secretive Reimann family. JAB owns chains including Krispy Kreme, Panera, Caribou Coffee, Au Bon Pain, and Pret A Manger, as well as Keurig Dr. Pepper and bottled-water brand Core.
In recent years, JAB has acquired some of the biggest names in food and beverage.
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Here's a breakdown of all of JAB's chains:
On Wednesday, Pret a Manger announced it had reached an agreement to acquire British sandwich chain EAT. The brand plans to convert "as many of EAT's shops as possible" to "Veggie Pret" locations.
Read on for more details on all the chains JAB owns:
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JAB acquired Peet's Coffee and Tea in 2012.
JAB Holding acquired Peet'sback in 2012 for about $1 billion.
It then did a deal for Caribou Coffee.
JAB also owns Caribou Coffee Co., which it acquiredin 2013for $340 million. Caribou Coffee is based in Minnesota.
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Next up was D.E Master Blenders 1753.
JAB struck a deal in 2013 to buy the coffee company D.E. Master Blenders 1753, which had been spun out of Sara Lee Corp. a year earlier, for $9.8 billion.
Then it struck a big deal in 2014 to create Jacobs Douwe Egberts, which owns brands including Kenco, Tassimo, Senseo, and Moccona.
Jacobs Douwe Egberts is the world's biggest coffee company, with revenues totaling more than 5 billion euros. That entity was formed as a result of a merger between another JAB brand and Mondelez International coffee products, which closed in 2015. Mondelez currently owns a 26.4% stake in JDE.
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JAB Holding bought Einstein Bros.' parent company in 2014.
JAB also bought Einstein Noah, a Colorado-based bagel company, in a $370 million deal. Einstein Noah was founded in 1995 and was operating more than 850 US stores at the time of the sale.
It also acquired the leading Nordic coffee retailer.
JAB reached a deal worth more than $300 million to buy Espresso House,the leading coffee chainin Sweden and Norway, in 2015.
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JAB-owned Peet's Coffee and Tea has gone on a buying spree.
Peet's has since gone on a buying spree, picking up two US brands —Intelligentsiaand Stumptown— in 2016. They are based in Chicago and Portland, Oregon.
JAB's acquisitions aren't restricted to chains.
JAB also has investments in top European brands, including Marcilla Professional, Pickwick, and Friele, to name a few. The company also owns the leading makers of high-end brewing products.
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In 2015, news broke that JAB was planning to acquire Keurig.
That December, JAB announced plans to buy Keurig for about $13.9 billion.
In 2018, Keurig merged with Dr Pepper Snapple Group.
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JAB added Krispy Kreme to the mix in 2016.
JAB and its partners spent about$1.35 billionto buy Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.
Panera was a big-name purchase.
Panera's then-CEO, Ron Shaich, said the acquisition —announced in 2017— allowed Panera to focus more on long-term success as opposed to short-term sales.
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Panera then acquired its sandwich rival Au Bon Pain.
The two brands havestrikingly similar menus,selling sandwiches, salads, soups, and coffee with an emphasis on nutrition that many fast-food competitors do not have.
In May 2018, JAB agreed to a deal to buy Pret A Manger.
Pret has been rapidly building out its international presence, opening locations in the US, Hong Kong and China, and France, adding to its already strong presence in the UK.
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Insomnia Cookies joined the JAB empire thanks to a deal with Krispy Kreme.
The terms of the deal were not announced, though a source told CNBC that thethen-unannounced dealwould value Insomnia Cookies at less than $500 million.
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Core is one of the latest beverage brands to come under JAB's control.
Core is best known for its bottled water brand, Core Hydration, and fruit hydration brand, Core Organic.
Frank Chaparro, Jonathan Marino, and Rachel Butt contributed to earlier versions of this post.
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Pret a Manger announced on Wednesday that it had reached an agreement to acquire EAT, transforming the sandwich chain into a vegetarian-centric brand "Veggie Pret."
"The purpose of this deal is to serve a growing demand of vegetarian and vegan customers who want delicious, high quality food and drink options," Pret CEO Clive Schlee said in a statement.
"We have been developing the Veggie Pret concept for over two years and we now have four hugely successful shops across London and Manchester. The acquisition of the EAT estate is a wonderful opportunity to turbo charge the development of Veggie Pret and put significant resources behind it."
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