Success brewing on global stage for coffee brand Mojo
Cooks Global Foods has fresh plans to put New Zealand coffee on the global stage.
Following the planned purchase of coffee brand Mojo for $19 million, the NZX-listed company is looking to the United States for market domination.
Cooks will pay $11.7m in cash, $2m in shares and take on $5.3m of debt to acquire Mojo. The deal relies on the company raising enough money to fund the cash component, and Mojo securing a lease variation and completing acceptable March accounts.
The acquisition is the next step in Mojo’s expansion, Cooks Global Foods executive chairman Keith Jackson said. It will see the brand open more stores in America, adding to its current one in Chicago.
“The American market is growing rapidly in terms of appreciation of good coffee and Australasian style of coffee,” Jackson said. “We have a common vision for growth in the US. We’ll open a lot more stores in Chicago as well as in other cities.”
Mojo founder and chief executive Steve Gianoutsos said he was emotional announcing news of the sale to staff.
“This isn’t a sail off into the sunset kind of the deal, this is more like a recapitalisation of my assets so that we can grow more international,” Gianoutsos said.
He said the “merger” was a good fit for the brands.
Jackson said Cooks Global Foods and Mojo would follow the expansion path of Australian coffee brand Bluestone Lane which had successfully opened stores throughout the US.
Gianoutsos said there would be no operational changes following the sale, and he would stay in the role of chief executive. “It’s business as usual. No one losses their job, nothing changes.”
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