Pret A Manger Sold To Panera Parent

JAB Holding Co., which already owns multiple coffee chains, is getting deeper into the sandwich market.

The parent company of Krispy Kreme, which bought Panera Bread for $7.5 billion last July, announced May 29 that it will purchase British grab-and-go sandwich chain Pret A Manger from private-equity company Bridgepoint Advisers Ltd. Terms of the deal were not officially disclosed, but The Wall Street Journal reports a figure of $2 billion, including debt. The transaction is expected to close during the summer.

JAB, a privately held German conglomerate headquartered in Luxembourg, is also the owner of Caribou Coffee, Keurig Green Mountain, Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, and Peet’s Coffee & Tea.

Pret was founded in 1986 as a single London location serving ready-to-eat sandwiches. It grew across Britain and opened a New York outlet in 2000. There are 530 stores in nine countries, including 92 in the U.S., 26 in Hong Kong, 24 in France, two in China, two in Dubai, two in Denmark, one in Singapore, and one in the Netherlands.

The brand competes against both Starbucks and its new JAB stablemate, Panera, in the sandwich market. According to The Wall Street Journal, Pret is expected to accelerate U.S. expansion under JAB’s ownership. Pret has posted 10 straight years of sales and earnings growth since being acquired by Bridgepoint.