Le Duff America announced that it will be selling the Bruegger's Bagels chain to Caribou Coffee. The sale will be final in September.
Caribou's parent company, JAB Holding Co., also owns Panera Bread, Einstein Noah (Einstein Bros.), Peet's Coffee and Tea, Stumptown Coffee Roasters and Intelligentsia Coffee. The company has acquired a few other companies as of late.
A few years ago, Caribou and Einstein Bros. created a store called "Coffee & Bagels," which can be found in the Twin Cities area. At this time, Caribou has not commented on what it will mean for the Einstein Bros. brand for Caribou to own both Einstein Bros. and Bruegger's, a rival bagel company.
"With the announced sale of Bruegger's Bagels and the successful refranchising of la Madeleine, we are ahead of plan in our asset-light strategy to dramatically grow our company over the next decade," said Le Duff America CEO Olivier Poirot. "The recent transactions strongly reinforce our balance sheet and shift our mindset so we can focus on our French heritage brands, including the upcoming U.S. launch of Brioche Doree, and continued growth in North America through franchising."
Sources: Star Tribune, 8/24/17, "Caribou Coffee buys Bruegger's Bagels";
PR Newswire, 8/24/17, "Le Duff America Nears Completion on la Madeleine Refranchising; Announces Sale of Bruegger's Bagels; Begins U.S. Launch of Brioche Doree"
