US drinks giant Keurig Dr Pepper has agreed to buy Dutch coffee firm JDE Peet's for €15.7bn (£13.6bn, $18.4bn) in the largest European acquisition in more than two years.
The companies plan to split into two US-listed firms after the merger, with one focused on coffee brands including Douwe Egberts and L'Or - while the other will sell soft drinks such as Schweppes, Snapple and 7 Up.
Executives said the purchase was intended to create a "resilient and diversified" coffee business, forming a "global coffee champion" at a time when the industry is grappling with tariffs and high prices for coffee beans.
And Keurig Dr Pepper boss Tim Cofer said it was "the right time" for the transaction.
But shares in the firm sank more than 7% after the deal was announced amid concerns it was backing away from the strategy which created the US drinks behemoth - a merger between Dr Pepper's soda business and Green Mountain Coffee.
