Family business roundup: Remy Cointreau and Joh A Benckiser make acquisitions

The drinks are on Remy Cointreau and Joh A Benckiser, after the family businesses respectively snapped up a whisky-maker and a coffee shop chain this week.

Joh A Benckiser, the holding company of the German Reimann family, said it would acquire US chain Peet’s Coffee & Tea for nearly $1 billion (€827,000) on 23 July.

Under its plans, the business, whose subsidiaries include fragrance company Coty and luxury goods group Labelux, would take Peet’s private after paying $73.50 a share, a 29% rise on Friday’s closing price.

The move comes just weeks after Benckiser, which is chaired by non-family Bart Becht, bought a stake of about 12% in Amsterdam-based coffee and tea company DE Master Blenders 1753.

Meanwhile, Remy Cointreau said on 23 July that it had reached an agreement to buy Bruichladdich Distillery Company, a single malt Scotch whisky distiller, in a deal worth £58 million (€74.5 million) including debt.

The Paris-based drinks company, which is controlled by the Heriard Dubreuil and Cointreau families, said the deal was part of its long-term strategy to invest in “international premium spirits with strong savoir-faire”.