Posted: 1:24 pm Mon, December 17, 2012
By Finance and Commerce 1:24 pm Mon, December 17, 2012
Caribou Coffee's logo
German cash could brew more Twin Cities growth
A German private equity company acquiring Brooklyn Center-based Caribou Coffee may seem scary at first. But some Twin Cities leaders say this kind of foreign capital infusion is just what employers in the area need.
Joh. A. Benckiser Group GmbH plans to spend $340 million ? $16 per share ? to acquire Caribou and is commencing a tender offer immediately to acquire all of the company?s outstanding shares.
The Benckiser Group bought a majority stake in Emeryville, Calif.-based Peet?s Coffee & Tea earlier this year. But Caribou will continue to operate as an independent company with its own brand, management team and growth strategy, and will continue to be headquartered in the Twin Cities, Caribou and Benckiser Group officials said in a news release.
?The headquarters will stay here, and they will grow here. But they?re now owned by global capital coming to our region,? Michael Langley, CEO of regional economic development group Greater MSP, told a gathering of Twin Cities political and business leaders on Monday.
Michael Tattersfield, Caribou?s president and CEO, spoke in the news release of ?tremendous opportunities to grow this great brand, with new ownership.?
Founded in 1992, Caribou has 610 locations in the United States and overseas, with 226 in Minnesota. Caribou also leases the 109,000-square-foot building at 3900 Lakebreeze Ave. N. in Brooklyn Center as its headquarters.
Earlier this year, a legal entity associated with Canadian real estate investment trust Artis acquired the building and three other suburban industrial and office properties from Real Estate Recycling in a deal worth $38 million.
As of Jan. 1, 2012, Caribou said it had 6,086 employees, about 1,737 of whom are full time.
For the full year, Caribou has said that it expects net sales to be flat with last year, with unit growth of about 10 percent to 12 percent. For 2013, it expects sales growth of 6 percent to 8 percent.
BDT Capital Partners, a Chicago-based merchant bank, is a minority investor in this transaction and served as a financial co-adviser in the deal.
Caribou?s board unanimously approved the buyout. The company currently has 20.3 million outstanding shares, according to FactSet.
Bringing more foreign investments into the region has been a top goal for Greater MSP. The group was not involved with the Caribou deal, but it has been especially active in China, where it joined the state?s Minnesota Trade Office to open a Shanghai office earlier this year.
?In China, I saw five private equity firms started in the last three months, and they?re hiring U.S. money managers to find a place for international growth capital to come to the United States of America,? Langley told the gathering. ?We need to be on the map and be there with great public policies, with a better business climate in the future.
?We need a tax structure environment that?s competitive,? he said. ?We need to continue to invest in infrastructure and education.?
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
This entry was posted on Monday, December 17th, 2012 at 1:24 pm and is filed under Business & Economy, Economic Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
Source: http://finance-commerce.com/2012/12/caribou-coffees-acquisition-could-be-a-plus/
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