Dr Pepper will unwind its merger with Keurig 7 years ago after buying Peet's for $18 billion

Less than a decade after their merger, Keurig and Dr Pepper plan to become separate companies again.

Keurig Dr Pepper said Monday it is buying the owner of Peet's Coffee for $18 billion (15.7 billion euro). Then it will break itself in two, with one company selling coffee and the other selling cold beverages like Snapple, Dr Pepper, 7UP and energy drinks.

The agreement unwinds the 2018 merger of Keurig and Dr Pepper. Shares of Keurig Dr Pepper fell 11% in afternoon trading Monday.

Investors were concerned about the company's plan to finance the acquisition with a mix of cash and debt. S&P Global placed Keurig Dr Pepper on a credit watch with negative implications Monday, saying it was concerned about the increase in debt and the complexity of the two-step transaction.

Keurig Dr Pepper CEO Timothy Cofer said the separate coffee and beverage businesses would be more nimble and better able to focus on growth opportunities in their own markets.

“Following the separation, each stand-alone entity will lead its industry with a sharp strategic focus and with operating models that are finely calibrated to their unique categories and markets,” Cofer said Monday during a conference call with investors.

The combination with Peet’s parent JDE Peet’s, which is based in Amsterdam, significantly expands Keurig's presence beyond North America, where it's known for its single-serve coffee machines. JDE Peet's owns the brands L’OR, Jacobs, Douwe Egberts, Kenco, Pilao, OldTown, Super and Moccona.

Cofer said the combined coffee business will generate $16 billion in annual net sales. The combined buying power will help Keurig and Peet's compete with other large coffee players like Nestle and Starbucks, especially as rising demand and poor weather conditions push coffee prices near record highs.

Cofer said the coffee company will also be able to focus on meeting demand, especially in developing markets. Around 40% of the company's sales will come from North America, 40% from Europe and 20% from emerging markets.

“We like, and I like, the coffee category. Why? It’s huge. It’s ubiquitous,” Cofer said. “Obviously, we’ve up to this point focused on North America. But the global data shows coffee is consistently growing on a volume basis above population.”

The merger could also help the company cushion the impact of U.S. tariffs. President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff this summer on most imports from Brazil — the world’s leading coffee producer — for an investigation of its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally.

In a conference call with investors in July, Cofer said the impact of tariffs would be “more prominent” in the second half of this year.

Meanwhile, sales of Dr Pepper's traditional soft drinks have been slowing as health-conscious consumers look for new alternatives. The newly formed beverage company, with $11 billion in annual sales in the U.S. and Mexico, can continue to pivot to its faster-growing beverages, like the energy drinks Ghost and C4 and the hydration drink Electrolit.

The companies said they expect to save around $400 million over three years because of the merger, which is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

Once the two companies are separated, Cofer will become CEO of the cold beverage business, which will be based in Frisco, Texas. Keurig Dr Pepper's chief financial officer, Sudhanshu Priyadarshi, will lead the coffee business, which will be located in Burlington, Mass. Its international headquarters will be in Amsterdam.

The deal is the latest big maneuver in the food and beverage industry, which has been trying to keep up with changing consumer tastes.

In 2023, Kellogg Co. split into two companies. Mars bought Kellanova, the owner of snack brands like Pringles, last year. Italian confectioner Ferrero announced in July that it planned to buy WK Kellogg, the cereal company.

Struggling Kraft Heinz has also been considering a split.

Companies have also been snapping up fast-growing brands. Keurig Dr Pepper's rival PepsiCo acquired the prebiotic soda brand Poppi in March to gain a foothold in the fast-growing functional beverage space. And in July, Keurig Dr Pepper acquired Dyla, a maker of powdered drink mixes and water enhancers.

FILE - The logo for Keurig Dr. Pepper appears above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, July 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio's capital city said Wednesday that they have gathered enough evidence to link a man charged in the double homicide of his ex-wife and her husband in their Columbus home last month to the killings.

Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said in an Associated Press interview that authorities now believe Michael David McKee, 39, a vascular surgeon who was living in Chicago, was the person seen walking down a dark alley near Monique and Spencer Tepe's home in video footage from the night of the murders. His vehicle has also been identified traveling near the house, and a firearm found in his Illinois residence also traced to evidence at the scene, she said.

An attorney representing McKee could not be identified through court listings.

His arrest Saturday capped off nearly two weeks of speculation surrounding the mysterious killings that attracted national attention. No obvious signs of forced entry were found at the Tepes’ home. Police also said no weapon was found there, and murder-suicide was not suspected. Further, nothing was stolen, and the couple’s two young children and their dog were left unharmed in the home.

“What we can tell you is that we have evidence linking the vehicle that he was driving to the crime scene. We also have evidence of him coming and going in that particular vehicle,” Bryant told the AP. “What I can also share with you is that there were multiple firearms taken from the property of McKee, and one of those firearms did match preliminarily from a NIBIN (ballistic) hit back to this actual homicide.”

Bryant said that the department wants the public to keep the tips coming. Investigators were able to follow up on every phone call, email and private tip shared from the community to the department and some of that information allowed them to gather enough evidence to make an arrest, she said.

That work culminated in the apprehension of McKee in Rockford, Illinois, where the hospital where he worked — OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center — has said it is cooperating with the investigation. He has been charged with premeditated aggravated murder in the shooting deaths. Monique Tepe, who divorced McKee in 2017, was 39. Her husband, a dentist whose absence from work that morning prompted the first call to police, was 37.

McKee waived his right to an extradition hearing on Monday during an appearance in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Winnebago County, Illinois, where he remains in jail. Bryant said officials are working out details of his return to Ohio, with no exact arrival date set. His next hearing in Winnebago County is scheduled for Jan. 23.

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said Wednesday that the city doesn't prioritize high-profile cases any more than others, noting that the city's closure rate on criminal cases exceeds the national average. The city also celebrated in 2025 its lowest level of homicides and violent crime since 2007, Ginther said.

“Every case matters. Ones that receive national attention, and those that don’t,” he told the AP. “Every family deserves closure and for folks to be held accountable, and the rest of the community deserves to be safe when dangerous people are taken off the street.”

Ginther said it is vital for central Ohioans to continue to grieve with the Tepes' family, which includes two young children, and loved ones, as they cope with “such an unimaginable loss.”

“I want our community to wrap our arms around this family and these children for years to come,” he said.

This undated booking photo provided by the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, shows Michael David McKee, who was charged in the killing of his ex-wife, Monique Tepe, and her husband Spencer Tepe at their Columbus, Ohio, home on Dec. 30, 2025. (Winnebago County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Spencer and Monique Tepe's home in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos)

This image taken from video shows Michael David McKee walking into the courtroom on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Rockford, Ill. (WIFR News/Pool Photo via AP)