D.E. Master Blenders and Mondelēz merger receives conditional approval
The European Commission's approval follows Jacobs Douwe Egberts's (JDE) commitment to divest the Carte Noire brand throughout the European Economic Area, the Merrild brand in Denmark and the Baltics, and licensing of the Senseo brand to a third party in Austria.
This will leave JDE with annual revenues of more than €5b (£3.7b) with a portfolio some of the biggest coffee brands around the world, including: Jacobs, Tassimo, Moccona, Senseo, Douwe Egberts and Kenco.
Pierre Laubies, CEO of Jacobs Douwe Egberts, commented: "We are pleased the Commission has conditionally approved the creation of Jacobs Douwe Egberts, and we are excited to create the world's leading pure-play coffee company.
"Through our iconic brands, rich histories and leading technologies, we intend to give coffee drinkers what they deserve: greater choice and access to some of the best coffee brands in the world.
"The combination of our coffee business with that of D.E Master Blenders 1753 creates a new global leader in the coffee category with a fantastic portfolio of technology platforms and global and local brands," added Irene Rosenfeld, chairman and CEO of MondelÄ"z International.
"The partnership will allow us to continue to participate in the growth of the coffee category, while enabling us to focus our resources on our core snacks categories of chocolate, biscuits, gum and candy."
The new management team of Jacobs Dowe Egberts consists of: Pierre Laubies, chief executive officer; Fabien Simon, chief financial officer; Peter Mueller, president professional and Luc Volatier, global vice president operations.
