Dutch coffee multinational Jacobs Douwe Egberts has agreed to pay 900 million euro to acquire Super Group, a instant tea and coffee manufacturer from Singapore. The move is a remarkable “entry” into the Asian market for the Dutch company.
Under-represented in Asia
Singaporean Super Group, founded in 1987, has 15 factories in China, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore and sells some 160 items in 65 countries, including brands like Super, Essenso and Nutremill.
Jacobs Douwe Egberts’ CEO Pierre Laubies feels the acquisition fits the company’s “worldwide coffee strategy” and it also instantly enlarges the company’s “foot print in the strategically important Southeast Asian growth region“. Prior to the acquisition, the Dutch company was quite under-represented in the region, but Super Group is an instant grand entrance. However, analysts feel the 1.45 billion Singapore dollar (some 900 million euro) acquisition fee is “relatively high”.
Jacobs Douwe Egberts is the merger company created in May 2014 when Dutch Douwe Egberts and American food giant Mondelez‘ coffee branch joined forces. Only a year earlier, German private equity firm JAB Holdings had delisted the Dutch coffee company (called DE Master Blenders at the time).
