Keurig, the maker of single-cup coffee machines that sit on millions of kitchen counters, agreed to sell itself Monday for almost $14 billion. The buyers are an investment group led by JAB Holding Co. It has a controlling stake in Jacobs Douwe Egberts, the company behind Gevalia, Tassimo and many other brands. It also has stakes in Peet’s Coffee & Tea and Caribou Coffee, two companies that already have deals in place to make coffee pods for Keurig machines.
The deal comes as Keurig has reported slowing sales of its machines and K-cups, the coffee-filled pods that are used in Keurig’s machines. Sales of K-cups, which accounted for more than 80 percent of Keurig’s revenue, rose 1 percent to $3.6 billion in the year ending Sept. 26. Sales of its machines fell 23 percent to $632.6 million in the same period.
