Caribou Coffee Co Inc (CBOU)

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Caribou Coffee to Go Private in $340 Million Deal With Joh. A. Benckiser

9:28 AM ET 12/17/12 | Dow Jones
By Melodie Warner

Caribou Coffee Co. (CBOU) agreed to be taken private in a roughly $340 million deal with the German investment group Joh. A. Benckiser.

Joh. A. Benckiser is the investment vehicle for Germany's Reimann family, which, among other holdings, owns perfume maker Coty Inc. JAB bought Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc. in October for roughly $1 billion and also owns a large stake in Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (RB.LN, RBGPY), a household-products powerhouse whose brands include Lysol, Woolite and French's mustard.

Caribou said JAB agreed to pay $16 a share in cash, a 30% premium to its Friday close. Shares were halted premarket and the stock has fallen 12% since the start of the year.

BDT Capital Partners, a Chicago-based merchant bank, is also a minority investor in this transaction, alongside JAB.

Caribou will remain based in Minneapolis, Minn.

The premium coffeehouse operator reported last month its third-quarter profit fell 3.6% as lower commercial sales contributed to its 5.2% revenue decline.

Write to Melodie Warner at [e-mail]

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December 17, 2012 09:28 ET (14:28 GMT)

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