=Panera Bread (PNRA) to be acquired by JAB Holding for $315/share or $7.5 bln

• JAB, which is the owner of the Caribou Coffee and Peet's Coffee & Tea brands, is expected to close the deal in the third quarter of this year. 
• Panera reported $2.8 billion in revenue for fiscal 2016 and operates over 2,000 restaurants.

LONDON — A billionaire European family agreed on Wednesday to add the Panera restaurant chain to its growing empire of American coffee and food favorites for $7.5 billion, including debt.

JAB Holding Company, the investment arm of the Reimanns of Germany, who are heirs to the consumer goods company Joh. A. Benckiser, said the transaction would be carried out through an investment vehicle known as JAB BV.


The deal follows a string of acquisitions by JAB in recent years, including the parent company of Einstein Brothers Bagels, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Stumptown Coffee Roasters and Caribou Coffee.

Panera Bread Founder Ron Shaich

Panera Bread agrees to be acquired by JAB Holding Company for $315/share in cash, or approximately $7.5 bln :

The co and JAB announced that the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which JAB will acquire Panera for $315 per share in cash, in a transaction valued at approximately $7.5 billion, including the assumption of approximately $340 million of net debt. The agreement, which has been unanimously approved by Panera's Board of Directors, represents a premium of approximately 30% to the 30-day volume-weighted average stock price as of March 31, 2017, the last trading day prior to news reports speculating about a potential transaction, and a premium of approximately 20% to Panera's all-time high closing stock price as of that same date.

• Prelim results: In fiscal Q1 2017, Company-owned comparable net bakery-cafe sales increased 5.3% compared to the same period in fiscal 2016. Two-year Company-owned comparable net bakery-cafe sales increased 11.5%. Additionally, Company-owned comparable net bakery-cafe sales in fiscal Q1 2017 outperformed the Black Box all-industry composite by 690 basis points.
• The transaction is not subject to a financing condition and is expected to close during the third quarter of 2017, subject to the approval of Panera shareholders and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including applicable regulatory approvals.

=Panera Bread (PNRA) reported earnings on Tue 25 Oct 2016 (a/h)

Panera Bread beats by $0.03, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS in-line :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.37 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.34; revenues rose 2.9% year/year to $684.2 mln vs the $680.11 mln Capital IQ Consensus. 
  • Company-owned comparable net bakery-cafe sales increased 3.4%, franchise-operated comparable net bakery-cafe sales increased 0.2%, and system-wide comparable net bakery-cafe sales increased 1.7% compared to the same period in fiscal 2015.
• Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $1.96-2.01 vs. $2.00 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. The Company is today setting a target for fiscal Q4 2016 Company-owned comparable net bakery-cafe sales growth of 3.5% to 4.0%.
• The Company announced today that Company-owned comparable net bakery-cafe sales in the first 27 days of fiscal Q4 2016 were up 3.4% and were up 6.8% on a two-year basis. The Company estimates the impact of Hurricane Matthew resulted in a transaction loss of ~35 to 40 basis points in the first 27 days of fiscal Q4 2016. As previously announced on the Company's fiscal Q2 2016 earnings call, this is the last time the Company will report 27-day comparable net bakery-cafe sales. The Company continues to expect 90 to 100 system-wide bakery-cafe openings in fiscal 2016. The average weekly net sales performance for new Company-owned bakery-cafes is now expected to be modestly above the high-end of the previously provided targeted range of $45,000 to $47,000. Non-GAAP Operating Margin For fiscal 2016, non-GAAP operating margin is now expected to be at the more favorable end of the previously provided range of down 50 to 100 basis points when compared to fiscal 2015, excluding the impact of certain items in both fiscal years.

=Panera Bread (PNRA) reported Q1 earnings on Tue 26 Apr 2016 (a/h)

Panera Bread beats by $0.06, beats on revs; raises FY16 EPS and same store comp guidance :

• Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.56 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better thanthe Capital IQ Consensus of $1.50; revenues rose 5.7% year/year to $685.15 mln vs the $673.73 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues upside guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $6.50-6.70, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $6.55 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate and vs prior guidance of $6.33-6.52.
• Company-owned comparable net bakery-cafe sales increased +6.2%, franchise-operated comparable net bakery-cafe sales increased +3.3%, and system-wide comparable net bakery-cafe sales increased +4.7%.
• Co raises its targeted range for FY16 company-owned comparable net bakery-cafe sales growth to +4.0% to 5.0%, from +3.5% to 4.5%.
• "By any measure, we are pleased with our first quarter results. Our growth in same-store sales and transactions was the best we generated in four years and we outperformed the Black Box all-industry composite by the widest margin we have ever recorded."