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Dutch coffee company DEMB agrees to $9.8B buyout

[April 12, 2013]  AMSTERDAM (AP) -- The management of Dutch coffee maker D.E. Master Blenders 1753 NV says it has agreed to a 7.5 billion euro ($9.8 billion) buyout offer from a group led by private German investment company Joh. A. Benckiser GmbH.

The offer of 12.50 euros per share announced Friday is 30 percent higher than where Master Blenders shares closed on March 27, the day before it announced it was in takeover talks with Benckiser.

Master Blenders was spun off from Sara Lee in June in an initial public offering that quickly soured after the company announced it had uncovered accounting irregularities at its Brazilian arm.

Benckiser also owns stakes in Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc. and Caribou Coffee, among others.

[Associated Press]

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