April 5 (UPI) -- European conglomerate JAB Holding Co. announced Wednesday it plans to acquire Panera Bread Co. to add to its growing U.S. food empire in a $7.5 million deal.
The planned purchase of the restaurant chain by JAB, a holding company owned by Austria's Reimann family, will add Panera Bread to the Krispy Kreme doughnut chain, and coffee brands Keurig Green Mountain, Peet's Coffee & Tea and Caribou Coffee to the list of recent of acquisitions. JAB also controls the Coty Inc. cosmetics company and licenses Burberry Group's cosmetics brands. Panera Bread will become a private company.
Panera Bread stockholders will receive $315 per share, a figure 20 percent higher than its March 31 closing price. The company's stock price increased 12.9 percent in pre-market trading Wednesday to $309.42 per share.
The company has more 2,000 restaurants in the United States and Canada, and about $5 billion in annual sales. Panera Bread sales increased 5.3 percent in the first quarter, over the same period last year. The JAB purchase is expected to close in the third quarter after shareholder and regulatory approvals, the companies said.
