A frantic bidding tussle is ensuing between Vermont-based coffee maker Green Mountain Roasters Inc. and Emeryville-based coffeehouse operator Peet’s Coffee and Tea Inc. The latter recently upped its offer to compete with the former. Peet’s offered $213 million in cash and stock for Diedrich earlier this month. Diedrich is a distributor of coffee to offices and restaurants. They also sell a new type of single brewing cup.

Diedrich is being offered $247 million in cash by Green Mountain. After this, Pete upped its cash and stock offer to $265 million. On Monday, Diedrich reported an increase in the share prices by 30%. The market value of the shares closed down at $270 million that included the diluted shares as well. K-Cups is the main attraction in bidding for Diedrich. You can easily brew one cup of coffee in a special machine with K-Cups where the coffee grounds get filtered out separately in different machines.

They’ve been selling a lot in firms that are looking to economize on the coffee expenditure for employees. Other retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. also sell them.

Incidentally, a subsidiary of Green Mountain called Keurig Inc. are the inventors of K-Cups.

Diedrich is one of many companies with the permission to make K-Cups.

Peet wants to sell Diedrich’s K-Cups in grocery stores already selling Peet’s coffee for additional sales.
In the grocery store business Green Mountain has also been doing well and wants Diedrich to help them with that and probably overtake Peet’s.

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