Caribou Surges as Peet's Coffee & Tea is Bought Out

German private investment group Joh. A. Benckiser announced on Monday that it has struck a deal to take Peet's Coffee & Tea (NASDAQ: PEET) private for nearly $1 billion in cash, or $73.50 per share. During Monday's trading session, PEET shares have surged 28.53% to $73.46. At one point, the stock was trading above the deal price, but it has since come off of its best levels. Under the terms of the deal, Peet's will continue to be operated by its current management and the company's employees will remain in the San Francisco Bay area, according to the Wall Street Journal. The company's home office will remain in Emeryville, California, and the roast-to-order facility will stay in Alameda, California. The Journal reports that the deal is expected to close in about three months. "We are pleased that JAB recognizes this and that Peet's existing shareholders will be rewarded with significant value," Peet's CEO Patrick O'Dea said. Some on Wall Street are speculating that competing bids for the company could come from the likes of Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX). The Wall Street Journal reports that the company was the inspiration for the Starbuck's founders and that one of them worked for Peet's to learn the business. Peet's was also a Starbucks supplier in the early days of the business. Howard Shultz, Starbuck's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, has referred to Peet's founder as a "spiritual godfather," in the past. Another potential suitor being mentioned is Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT). The announcement of the deal has triggered activity in a number of other related coffee stocks. Starbucks (SBUX), for example was trading down around 3% on the day, possibly on speculation that it will indeed offer a competing bid for Peet's. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR) shares opened higher on Monday after the deal was announced, but have since fallen. The clear near-term beneficiary of the Peet's buyout appears to be Caribou Coffee (NASDAQ: CBOU) which has jumped more than 5% to $11.77 on heavy volume. Caribou is a small coffee-shop chain, similar to Starbucks, but at only a fraction of the scale. The company has a market-cap of around $248 million at current levels.