Cooley LLP announced today that it is advising Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc. in its sale to Joh. A. Benckiser (JAB).  JAB has agreed to acquire Peet’s for $73.50 per share in cash, or a total of approximately $1 billion. The transaction is expected to close in approximately three months, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of shareholder and regulatory approvals.

At the close of the transaction, Peet’s will be privately owned and will continue to be operated by the company’s current management team and employees.

The Cooley team advising Peet’s included members from the San Francisco, San Diego, Palo Alto, Seattle and Washington, DC offices.  The cross-office team was led by partner Kenn Guernsey and partner and chair of the Mergers & Acquisitionspractice Barbara Borden and included special counsel Rama Padmanabhan, partner Mischi a Marca, associates Jon Russo, Scott Tanner, Rebecca Jones, Ron Metzger and Alison Senyei (M&A/corporate); partners Gordon Atkinson andChristopher Durbin, associate James McArthur and partner Ann Mooney(litigation/insurance); associates Amy Wood, Megan Arthur and Soo Kim and partner and chair of the Compensation and Benefits practice Tom Reicher (compensation and benefits); special counsel Anna Pope and associate Jon Dunn (real estate); partner Robin Lee and of counsel Diane Savage (technology transactions); partner and chair of the Antitrust practice Howard Morse and associate Megan Browdie(antitrust); partner Susan Philpot (tax); special counsel Renu Gupta (environmental); and associate Paul Oleksiuk (intellectual property).

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