(St. Louis, MO) -- Panera Bread Company is getting a new owner.
JAB Holding says it's buying the St. Louis-based bakery cafe chain for seven-and-a-half billion dollars. The deal will further expand the coffee holdings of Europe-based JAB. It also owns Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Caribou Coffee and Peet's Coffee & Tea, as well as Keurig Green Mountain.
JAB Holding will pay 315-dollars a share, a 20-percent premium over Friday's closing price, and will assume 340-million dollars in debt. Panera has about two-thousand restaurants nationwide.
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