Irvine, Calif., June 15 - Diedrich Coffee, Inc., a leading roaster and wholesaler of the world's finest coffees, has completed the sale of its Gloria Jean's Coffees domestic franchise operations to Praise International North America, Inc. for approximately $3.1 million.
The sale of the Gloria Jean's Coffees domestic franchise operations to Praise International North America includes a total of 102 franchised and company-operated Gloria Jean's Coffees locations across 24 states. As part of the sale agreement, Diedrich Coffee retains the rights to use the Gloria Jean's Coffees brand name in perpetuity for various wholesale business channels and its Keurig K-Cup(R) product line. The parties also signed an exclusive five-year agreement for Diedrich Coffee to provide roasting services to the Gloria Jean's Coffees domestic franchise operations acquired by Praise International North America in the transaction.
"The sale supports our strategy to capitalize on the growth of the wholesale specialty coffee market with our strength as a premier roaster and distributor of the world's finest coffees," said J. Russell Phillips, president and CEO of Diedrich Coffee. "With the increasing demand for specialty coffees in homes, restaurants and offices, we are realizing strong growth in our wholesale business, especially in the sale of K-Cups through office coffee distributors, specialty stores and online retailers."
Praise International North America is an affiliate of Gloria Jean's Coffees International, which holds the rights to the Gloria Jean's Coffees brand outside of the United States and Puerto Rico, and operates more than 1,000 coffee houses worldwide.