Panera Buys Au Bon Pain, Ron Shaich Steps Down as CEO
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Panera Bread is reuniting with Au Bon Pain by buying the smaller bakery chain and naming a new CEO, major changes that come four months after Panera was acquired and taken private by investment firm JAB.
Au Bon Pain and Panera were part of the same company until 1999. Now Panera, which was sold to JAB for $7.2 billion in July, wants Au Bon Pain’s business-driven locations to help drive its own business. It’s the latest deal at JAB, which has been steadily growing an empire of coffee-and-bakery chains that by now also includes the likes of Krispy Kreme, Caribou Coffee, and Peet’s.
Speculation had been growing recently that JAB might look to buy Dunkin’ Donuts to keep adding to its coffee-driven lineup. Once news of the Au Bon Pain takeover was announced Wednesday afternoon, shares of Dunkin’s parent, Dunkin’ Brands, fell more than 4 percent.
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