(Reuters) -Keurig Dr Pepper is close to a roughly $18-billion deal to buy Dutch coffee company JDE Peet's, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The merged company plans to later separate their beverage and coffee units, the report said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Keurig Dr Pepper and JDE Peet's did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Keurig Dr Pepper, created in 2018 through the merger of Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper Snapple,
owns brands including Dr Pepper, Snapple, 7UP, and Green Mountain Coffee.
The company has a market valuation of about $48 billion, while JDE Peet's, listed in Amsterdam, is valued at 12.76 billion euros ($14.93 billion), according to LSEG data.
Its shares are up nearly 10% this year on strong beverage sales but the company has warned its coffee segment will stay subdued for the rest of the year due to U.S. tariffs under President Donald Trump and higher coffee prices.
JDE Peet’s, which owns brands including Jacobs, L’Or, Tassimo and Douwe Egberts, has also warned U.S. coffee prices could rise if Trump’s threatened tariffs extend to Brazilian exports.
The company is majority-owned by Germany’s JAB, which also holds a significant minority stake in Keurig Dr Pepper, according to LSEG data.
Separately, the Financial Times reported on Sunday citing a source that JAB expects separating the companies after the merger would unlock more value from the soft drinks group.
The deal could be announced as soon as Monday, FT said, citing people familiar with the matter.
JAB did not respond to a request for comment.
($1 = 0.8545 euros)
(Reporting by Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by SandraMaler, Rod Nickel and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
