A Montana-based bakery-café chain filed a Federal Trade Commission objection this week that questions the potential “anticompetitive effects” of the sale of Panera Bread to JAB Holding.
Great Harvest Bread, which has 196 units nationwide, claims the proposed merger puts its franchisees at competitive risk, especially in coffee programs, and could also be affected by a pending trademark infringement lawsuit that began in March 2016.
JAB Holding, owner of coffee and breakfast concepts and Krispy Kreme, agreed in April to pay $7.5 billion for St. Louis-based Panera Bread, which has 2,042 bakery-cafés in the United States and Canada. A closing date on the deal has not been announced.
Full Content: Fast Casual
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