Peet's share price reflects possible rival bid by Starbucks
The share price of Peet's Coffee & Tea continues to edge higher, despite last week's announcement of a one billion dollar acquisition agreement with Germany's Joh. A. Benckiser, making it the most expensive US beverage deal. According to experts, this signals that traders do not exclude the possibility of counterbids from other large rivals. One company that may be particularly interested in such a move would be Starbucks. A successful rival bid would allow Starbucks to gain a foothold in the gourmet retail market and prevent Peet's from expanding its coffee shops. Analysts estimate that the coffee behemoth would be prepared to pay a roughly 10% premium above Peet's current stock price. Starbucks currently has a market value of $36 billion.