BERLIN, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The JAB Holding controlled by the German Reimann family is set to acquire "Pret a Manger" chain of international sandwich shops from the private equity group Bridgepoint, the companies told the press on Tuesday.
According to the newspaper "Financial Times", JAB Holding is offering 1.7 billion euros (1.96 billion U.S. dollars), including debt, in the deal. The take-over marks the latest in a series of moves by the billionaire Reimann family to build a global food retail empire following its recent acquisition of the U.S. "Panera Bread" chain for 7.5 billion dollars in 2017.
"Pret a Manger" operates 530 stores across the world and is scheduled to open its first German location in Berlin this fall. The company was founded in London in 1986 and recorded gross revenue of just over a billion euros in 2017.
The Reimanns made their fortune with the cleaning products company Benckiser which came under Ludwig Reimanns' ownership in 1851. The Mannheim-based family went public with Benckiser after a North-American growth spurt in 1993 and are considered to be amongst Germany's richest families.
The JAB Holding (which stands for "Joh. A. Benckiser") still retains a minority stake in the Reckitt-Benckiser consumer goods company in its broad portfolio of investments. The conglomerate became the world's largest coffee company in 2015, owning brands such as Jacobs, Senseo, Tassimo and Keurig Green Mountain.
