Unlock Editorial Digest for Free
FT editor Roula Khalaf chooses her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
European coffee group JDE Peet's is replacing two of its top executives as controlling shareholder JAB Holding attempts to restructure L'Or owners Kenco and Douwe Egberts after a long period of poor performance.
The Dutch listed company, with a market capitalization of 10.3 billion euros, is hiring former Marks & Spencer CEO Luc Vandevelde as chairman and interim chief executive, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Vandevelde, 73, who currently serves as a director of the company, will succeed CEO Fabien Simon on an interim basis in early April and lead the search for a new CEO. He will also permanently succeed JDE Peet's Chairman Olivier Goudet at the end of May. Goudet will continue to serve as a director of JDE Peet's.
The changes are expected to be confirmed later Friday.
The overhaul marks the latest major change within the empire of JAB, the European investment group best known for its ownership of Pret A Manger, Coty and Krispy Kreme.
In November, JAB unexpectedly announced that Goudet, 59, would step down as CEO and be replaced by lawyer Joachim Creus, 47, who has been with the group since 2010.
Goudet is a prolific dealmaker who joined JAB from Mars more than a decade ago and through a series of deals led to the creation of JDE Peet's, laying an important foundation for the group's influence in the coffee sector.
JAB and its affiliates remain the largest shareholders in JDE Peet's, holding approximately 60% of the shares. JDE Peet's floated in Amsterdam in May 2020 at a price of €31.50, raising €2.25 billion.
The company's IPO came during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, when consumers stocked up on household consumables such as coffee. Simon was JAB's Chief Financial Officer at the time and took over as JDE Peet's CEO later in 2020.
Since then, JDE Peet's has struggled with rising input costs and inflation. Its shares gradually drifted lower, closing at 21.06 euros on Friday, down about a third from the initial public offering.
Analysts covering the stock have a negative outlook for the company, with 23% of analysts tracked by Bloomberg giving it a “sell” rating and 70% giving it a “hold” rating.
JAB made other executive changes at its portfolio companies last year, including donut maker Krispy Kreme and fast-casual chain Panera Bread.
JDE Peet's and JAB declined to comment.
#JDE #Peet39s #replaces #CEO #chairman #Marks #Spencer #boss #Luc #Vandevelde
