Brew News
6 January 2010  www.specialty-coffee.com Green Mountain Acquires Diedrich Co ee Diedrich Coffee, Inc., was purchased in December for $35 per share in a cash transaction estimated at $290 million following an aggressive competition between Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) and Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc. Diedrich terminated a previously announced merger agreement with Peet's Coffee & Tea after the expiration of the negotiation period, a move that forced Green Mountain to pay a termination fee of $8.5 million to Peet's on behalf of Diedrich. Peet's originally offered Diedrich a combination of cash and stock valued at $26 per share. GMCR countered and Peet's, which upped its offer to $32.50 per share, chose not to resubmit an enhanced proposal in response to GMCR's cash offer. Lawrence J. Blanford, president and chief executive officer of GMCR, said we are delighted to ink the merger agreement and look forward to realizing the substantial benefits of this transaction. Adding Diedrich's three strong brand platforms, which are highly complementary to GMCR's brands, as well as its manufacturing and distribution facilities in California will enable us to more effectively reach consumers across North America with an enhanced array of coffee choices, said Blanford. Diedrich's Chairman of the Board, Paul C. Heeschen, said the transaction maximizes value for our shareholders and is expected to bring new opportunities for both our employees and brands to grow as part of a stronger business platform. We look forward to working with GMCR to ensure a smooth transition. Veteran CEO Named to Run Eco-Products Eco-Products recently hired a new CEO, Bob King. His decades of experience in rapid growth environments including B-to-B and retail will allow the company to continue its swift expansion while diversifying into direct retail sales and other channels, according to a company release. King is best known for his leadership of Corporate Express as COO and then as CEO during the company's explosive growth period from 1993-2001. With its present success, Eco-Products is in the perfect position to expand, offering sustainable disposable solutions through additional channels reaching more consumers, said King. I'm eager to apply my expertise to help the company fulfill its mission. Since I started this company with my father, Eco-Products has grown from a small recycled office supply house to a multi-million dollar outfit providing 100 eco-friendly foodservice products to thousands of clients, said founder and executive chairman, Steve Savage. We are ready and excited for Bob's skillful leadership to guide Eco-Products to the next level. ASIC 2010 Speaker Deadline Approaching The Association for Science and Information on Coffee's (ASIC) 23rd International Conference on Coffee Science, an important conference on worldwide coffee research, is scheduled from Oct. 3-7, 2010 in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. The Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute (ICCRI), Mark Your Calendar Bob King, Eco-Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Brad Price, Monin Gourmet Flavorigns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Brie Johnson, Straus Family Creamery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Brooke McDonnell, Equator Estate Coffee & Teas . . . . . . . . . 37 Carol Ullner, 1-2-3 Gluten Free . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Christine Alexander, Fairgrounds Coffeehouse & Bakery. . . . 46 Crystal Yun, Cafà Du Village, Shanghai, China . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Daniel Hanson, Folklore Foods, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Debbie Anderson, Victorian House Scones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Deborah Glasser, Good Earth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Dr. Timothy Schilling, SCAA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Ed Arvidson, E&C Consulting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Heather Perry, Klatch Coffee & Roasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Helen Ostle, Sweetbird Syrups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Jack Groot, Midwest Barista School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 James Freeman, Blue Bottle Coffee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Jeff Greiner, Stirling Foods, Inc., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Jim Collins, New England Cupboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 John Cossette, Royal Coffee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Lani Peterson, DaVinci Gourmet Syrups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Lawrence J. Blanford, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters . . . . . 6 Louise Wilkie, CE Organics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Maral Barsoumian, Amoretti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Mark Stell, Portland Roasting Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Michael Granham, MicNelf USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Mike Fata, Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods & Oils . . . . . . . . . 28 Patricia Mott, Ella Scones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Patrick Criteser, Coffee Bean International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Patrick Gabrish, Pacifi c Natural Foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Patrick Holmes, Autocrat Premium Coffee & Syrup. . . . . . . . 13 Paul C. Heeschen, Diedrich Coffee, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Stacy Cooper Dent, Torani Flavored Syrups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Steve Savage, Eco-Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Willem Boot, Boot Coffee Consulting & Training . . . . . . . . 4,38 Newsmakers are indexed to the first page of the article in which each is mentioned February 6-9: The San Francisco International Gift Fair; (678) 285-3976; www.sfigf.com 11-13: 7 th African Fine Coffee Conference & Exhibition; Mombasa, Kenya; +256 (0)414 269 140/1/7; secretariat@eafca.org; www.eafca.org 21-24: Alberta Gift Show; Northlands, Edmonton; (416) 385-1880; www.albertagiftshow.com 28-March 1: Upper Midwest Foodservice & Lodging Show; Minneapolis; (651) 778-2400; www.upshowonline.com