Krispy Kreme owners buy Panera Bread for $7.5B

The secretive billionaire Reimann family of Germany continued its US shopping spree on Wednesday, agreeing to pay $7.5 billion for the 2,036-store Panera Bread chain.

The family’s JAB Holdings will add the St. Louis chain to its growing stable of brands, including Krispy Kreme, Jimmy Choo, Coty and Bally.

It also pushes the family deeper into the US coffee business as it also owns Keurig Green Mountain, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Caribou Coffee, Timothy’s World Coffee and, under its JDE umbrella, the Gevalia, Douwe Egberts and Pilão brands.

JAB will pay $315 in cash per Panera share, representing a 20 percent premium to the stock’s closing price on March 31 — before news of a possible deal swelled the company’s shares.

Because of its recent buying spree, the Reimann family is now one of the world’s biggest players in the coffee game.

On the retail front, JAB’s brands are quite varied. Panera appeals to health-conscious consumers while Krispy Kreme, not so much.

Panera sales have increased 10 percent over the past two years, just ahead of the 8 percent growth in the number of stores. Profits have fallen over the same period.

With the Panera deal, JAB will assume roughly $340 million of net debt, the family’s investment vehicle and Panera said in a statement.