US investment fund TPG is making a new attempt to sell its stake in Strauss Coffee. The fund yesterday reported, “The process of considering possibilities for selling the shares in Strauss Coffee has begun.”
Strauss Coffee said, “No decision whatsoever has been taken about what the company will do in the matter.”
TPG and Strauss Group Ltd. have been partners in Strauss Coffee since the fund acquired 25.1% of the latter’s shares for $293 million in 2008, reflecting a $1.16 billion value for Strauss Coffee.
As a private equity fund, TPG wanted to sell its holding after a few years, and in 2013 asked Strauss to either buy its share or hold an IPO for the company.
A court in the Netherlands (where Strauss Coffee has its headquarters) which heard the case, however, rejected the fund’s allegations.
In March 2015, Strauss announced that the coffee company had submitted a confidential draft prospectus to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a possible US share offering.
Since then, however, there has been no progress in the matter, and it does not appear that a Strauss Coffee IPO is now being considered, which could explain TPG’s wish to try again to exit its partnership.
The fund will likely attract interest in its holdings from various funds and investors, but not competing companies. It also cannot be ruled out that Strauss may buy the minority stake in the company it controls.
