It has been less than a year since JDE Peet’s hired Rafael Oliveira as CEO and promised him a millionaire payment if he could double the price of the coffee maker’s shares (coffee owner).
It approaches olive this award – today estimated at about $ 38 million (approximately $ 207 million) – and may even allow him to receive it as soon as the business is completed.
The potential payment stems from a package of stock options granted to Oliveira when he was hired, scheduled to be released in four years.
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The € 31.85 (US $ 36.92) Keurig Dr Pepper offer per action of JDE Peet’s places the executive in a position to exercise 2.45 million options. Converting them into stocks and selling them immediately, he would pocket about $ 38 million, according to calculations by Bloomberg Newsassuming that the exercise price remains at € 18.43, value defined when the options were granted.
JDE Peet’s did not respond to requests for comment.
Mission of recovering the company
Oliveira took charge of JDE Peet’s in November 2024 after a decade at Kraft Heinz Co .. He was hired to stabilize the company after Fabien Simon’s departure in April of that year and the unexpected resignation of his interim successor less than five months later. It also received the mission to reverse the long drop in the stock price.
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The executive promised to maintain discipline in prices to compensate for the increase in the cost of green coffee and to be “highly selective” in the use of capital. Last month, the company, listed in Amsterdam, said it would improve its profitability concentrating efforts in three areas: Peet’s coffee shops, the L’Or brand and ten local labels. It also raised its annual projections of growth and profit.
JDE Peet’s shares rose 61% in 2025 before the sale announcement.
Contract clauses
The options granted to Oliveira had as a condition that he remained in office for the entire period of four years and not selling any action before 2029. Upon taking over, he was also forced to buy € 10 million in JDE Peet’s shares and keep them until the options were released.
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If the company were sold during this period, “the standard treatment of the awards is continuity under equivalent conditions with the acquiring company,” JDE Peet’s advice in May told the Dutch corporate governance group Eumedion, adding that a cash payment could be considered if the conversion were not possible.
When two companies merge, one of the CEOs usually takes command of the new company and receives new stock packages, under conditions equivalent to those before. The other, who can integrate the advice or leave the company, sometimes also receives new packages – or is paid in cash.
Shareholders, in general, prefer the CEO who leaves office receives new stock packages instead of an immediate payment, to ensure that the agreement is made with a long term focus.
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Uncertain future
But it is unclear if this is the case of Oliveira.
This is because Keurig Dr Pepper and JDE Peet’s will be divided into two new companies after the merger: one focused on soda, led by CEO Tim Cofre, and another in coffee, commanded by CFO Sudhanshu Priyadarshi. It is not yet known what the next steps of Oliveira will be.
If it integrates the board of one or two new companies, you may receive new stock packages to replace the old options. But if not, it is possible that your award will be released at the closing of the transaction.
In the US, large companies often accelerate the payment of non -released CEO packages that lose their position as a result of a merger, to ensure that they think of what is best for the company and not just protecting their position.
Keurig Dr Pepper and JDE Peet’s reported that the full list of executives and council members of the two new companies will be released on a future date.
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