Owner of Peet's Coffee sold for $18 billion

U.S. buyer Keurig Dr. Pepper will be split into two firms after the purchase.

- BY CAROLINE PETROW-COHEN

JUSTIN SULLIVAN Getty Images PEET'S Coffee will be owned by a new company, Global Coffee Co. Above, a store in San Francisco, one of more than 220 in California.

A new coffee giant could be brewing.

The American beverage firm Keurig Dr. Pepperplans to buy JDE Peet's, the European parent company of California’s gourmet coffee trailblazer, Peet’s Coffee, in an all-cash transaction worth about $18 billion.

Keurig Dr. Pepper will be split into two independent companies, one of which will focus on coffee, according to a Monday release.

The new coffee company will be called Global Coffee Co. and will be publicly traded in the U.S., as will the beverage company, which will be called Beverage Co. Global Coffee Co. will have about $16 billion in combined annual sales and Beverage Co. will have more than $11 billion in annual net sales, the release said.