Westrock Coffee set to buy S&D Coffee and Tea

Westrock Coffee, a maker of branded and private label coffee, is about to grow. The Little Rock, Ark.-based company has agreed to buy S&D Coffee and Tea from Tampa, Fla.-based Cott for $405 million in cash in a move that will make Westrock one of the biggest tea suppliers in the country. 

S&D has been operating since 1927 and currently is a market leader in custom coffee roasting, as well as blending iced teas for U.S. foodservice and convenience stores. It also plays in the extracts and ingredients space. 

“We intend to use the scale of the new company to offer the most innovative beverage solutions with competitive pricing to our global clients while simultaneously providing a premium price to our farmer partners at origin,” said Westrock CEO and co-founder Scott Ford. “Our combined organization will seek to lead the industry with our sustainability program and to accelerate the development of a broadening array of innovative products.”

Westrock said that it and S&D, which operates out of Concord, N.C., would continue under their respective brands for the time being. The combined company will have roughly 1,700 global employees and roast, grind and package more than 220 million pounds of coffee every year. S&D president and CEO Ron Hinson will serve as an advisor to the new companies in the role of chairman emeritus. 

“Participating in S&D’s growth and success during the past four decades has been incredible. We achieved industry leadership by innovating to serve our customers,” Hinson said. “We invested in job and career growth for employees and our community, and I look forward to working with Scott and the newly combined leadership team to see these achievements go even further. The highly complementary product and customer focus S&D brings to Westrock Coffee makes this a terrific event for our business, our employees, and especially our customers.”

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020.