Feb 1 Italy's Lavazza will seal the purchase of French coffee brand Carte Noire in the next few weeks in a deal worth about 750 million euros ($814 million), two sources close to the matter told Reuters. The acquisition will make Lavazza the market leader for coffee in France, a country which is the second largest coffee market in Europe and the fourth biggest in the world. Carte Noire was put up for sale in February 2015 by U.S.-based group Mondelez International to soothe European competition concerns after it formed the world's biggest standalone coffee company with D.E Master Blenders 1753. Lavazza said in July it had tabled a binding offer to buy Carte Noire from the new global coffee giant. Lavazza offered to buy Carte Noire's business within the 31-nation European Economic Area, including in-home roast and ground coffee, filter pads and Nespresso-compatible capsules. Lavazza would also acquire a factory in southern France. The Italian company, which ranks seventh among the world's coffee roasters, has said in the past it wanted to become a bigger player to avoid being swallowed by far larger rivals. The deal is worth around 750 million euros and is expected to be wrapped by the end of February, one of the sources said. Lavazza declined to comment on the deal. According to a second source, the acquisition, a rare deal in which an Italian company is the buyer and not the prey, will be half funded from Lavazza's cash with the rest coming from bank financing. BNP Paribas, Intesa Sanpaolo, Rabobank, UniCredit will likely take part in the financing, the second source said. Source: reuters.com/article/cartenoire-ma-lavazza-idUSI6N15302N
