MILAN – Panera Bread’s shares spiked more than 13 percent in aftermarket trading on Tuesday, after Bloomberg reported that JAB was in advanced talks to acquire the bakery chain. Representatives from Panera were not immediately available to comment.
JAB, a privately held company, headquartered in Luxembourg, owns other brands such as Keurig Green Mountain and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.
“An acquisition of Panera Bread not only brings them a digital platform that ultimately that they can use across their portfolio, but also it provides them an opportunity for some vertical integration of the coffee business,” Bob Derrington, senior research analyst at Telsey Advisory Group, said in an interview with “Power Lunch” Tuesday.
On Monday, Bloomberg reported Panera was exploring strategic options, including a possible sale, citing sources close to Panera. One of those sources told the news service that potential suitors could include JAB Holdings, Starbucks and Domino’s.
While the report said that there was no certainty that a deal would be struck, analysts were quick to speculate about what company could be Panera’s best suitor.
In a note out to clients earlier Tuesday, a group of equity analysts at Credit Suisse led by Jason West said a JAB acquisition made sense.
“We believe JAB would be the most likely acquirer of PNRA given JAB’s current portfolio of coffee assets (Krispy Kreme, Keurig, Peet’s, etc.),” Credit Suisse said.
JAB, the investment arm of the secretive Reimann family, has been busily scooping up companies in the consumer and food sectors in the past few years.
It spent about $1.35 billion to buy Krispy Kreme Doughnuts in 2016.
The firm also spent $13.9 billion buying home-brewing coffee company Keurig Green Mountain in late 2015.
