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Keurig Dr Pepper Eyes Nasdaq Switch to Broaden Investor Base

Keurig Dr Pepper Said to Eye Nasdaq Switch as JAB Reduces Stake

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. will move its listing to the Nasdaq Inc. stock exchange as part of a series of measures designed to diversify its shareholder base.

The coffee and soft drinks manufacturer will shift its shares from the New York Stock Exchange later this month, it said in a Tuesday statement confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report.

With a market value of about $42 billion, Keurig Dr Pepper will rank among the largest companies on the historically tech-focused exchange, which is home to the likes of Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook Inc. Its size will secure it a place on the widely-tracked Nasdaq-100 index, helping it attract more passive investment funds.

“Listing on Nasdaq is an important milestone in Keurig Dr Pepper’s evolution as a modern beverage company with a diverse and widely-held shareholder base,” Keurig Dr Pepper Chief Executive Officer Bob Gamgort said in a statement.

In addition to the listings switch, major shareholder JAB Holdings, which controls just under half of Keurig Dr Pepper through its Maple Holdings BV investment vehicle, is to redistribute around $2.2 billion of shares in the company to its own investors, according to a separate statement.

JAB’s Maple will transfer stock to banker Byron Trott’s BDT Capital Partners and Quadrant Capital Advisors, a firm managed by Colombia’s billionaire Santo Domingo family. Shares will also be redistributed to investors in the JCF Consumer Fund, which mainly comprises sovereign wealth funds, university endowments and family offices.

Broader Base

The plans form part of Gamgort’s ambition to make Keurig Dr Pepper a more widely-held stock, having previously focused on integrating the Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper Snapple Group businesses following a merger in 2018.

BDT, Quadrant and the JCF investors will be subject to a six-month lock-up period following the trade, according to the Tuesday statement. JAB and Maple will collectively own 44% of Keurig Dr Pepper.

JAB pushed to consolidate the global coffee industry in 2012. It led the earlier acquisitions of coffee machine and pod-maker Keurig and Green Mountain coffee roasters before merging the combined business with Dr Pepper Snapple to gain distribution advantages. The investment firm has gradually sold down its stake in Keurig Dr Pepper since the beverage group was formed two years ago.

JAB also holds a stake in coffee giant JDE Peet’s BV, which went public earlier this year.

Keurig Dr Pepper will continue to trade under the “KDP” ticker following its move to Nasdaq, according to the company’s statement.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.