BOSTON, July 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Block & Leviton
LLP, a Boston-based law firm
representing investors nationwide, is investigating possible
breaches of fiduciary duties by the Board of Directors of Peet's
Coffee & Tea, Inc. ("Peet's Coffee" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:
PEET) concerning its announced going private transaction with
Joh. A. Benckiser ("JAB").
Under the terms of the merger, JAB will acquire Peet's Coffee
for $73.50 per share in cash, which
is a premium of approximately 28% over the Company's share price on
July 20, 2012, the last trading day
before the merger was announced. The total transaction is
valued at approximately $1
billion.
Block & Leviton's investigation seeks to determine, among
other things, whether Peet's Coffee's Directors breached their
fiduciary duties by failing to maximize shareholder value in the
proposed merger with JAB. For example, the Company's share
price traded higher than the current offering price as recently as
May 1, 2012 (when the stock closed at
$75.23 per share). In fact, the
Company's share price hit a high of $77.60 on March 28,
2012, well above the offering price to be paid by JAB.
Likewise, in March 2012, analysts at
Jefferies boosted its price target for Peet's Coffee to
$88.00 per share and reiterated its
Buy rating. Finally, all of the Company's current management
and employees will continue to operate the Company and participate
in its future growth.
If you have any information relevant to this investigation, or
have questions about your legal rights, please contact Jason M. Leviton, Esq. of Block & Leviton
LLP at (617) 398-5620 or email him at Jason@blockesq.com.
Block & Leviton is a Boston-based law firm representing investors
for violations of securities laws. The firm's lawyers have
collectively been prosecuting securities cases on behalf of
investors for over 50 years.
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Contact:
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BLOCK
& LEVITON LLP
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Jason M.
Leviton, Esq.
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(617)
398-5620
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Jason@blockesq.com
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This may constitute attorney advertising.
SOURCE Block & Leviton LLP