KDP Raises $7 Billion From Apollo, KKR to Help Fund JDE Deal

Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. is raising $7 billion from Apollo and KKR to help finance its acquisition of JDE Peet’s NV, aiming to ease investor concerns about taking on too much debt.

Wall Street has expressed skepticism over Keurig’s August announcement to buy the Dutch coffee company for about $18 billion. The deal raises Keurig’s leverage and triples its exposure to a coffee category that investors wanted to see reduced, TD Cowen analyst Robert Moskow wrote in a note earlier this month.