Sonenshine Partners Advises Borders on its Licensing Agreement with Seattle’s Best Coffee
Company Press Release
August 12, 2004

New York, NY - Sonenshine Partners LLC today announced that it acted as financial advisor to Borders Group Inc. on entering a licensing agreement with Seattle’s Best Coffee. Seattle's Best Coffee, purchased by Starbucks in 2003, is a fully owned subsidiary of the Seattle-based specialty-coffee giant. The coffee retailer said that beginning next year, Borders Books & Music would run Seattle's Best Coffee cafes in more than 400 existing stores and in new stores as they open.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.  Beginning early next year, cafes currently located within Borders stores in the continental United States and Alaska will be converted to SBC cafes. The conversion process is expected to take a few years. Meanwhile, new Borders locations will open with SBC cafes in place. Unlike Starbucks' deal with its own brand in Barnes & Noble stores, Borders will operate the stores itself under a licensing agreement.

This marks the second deal Starbucks has announced on behalf of Seattle's Best Coffee in recent months. Last month, Starbucks said it expanded its licensing agreement with Kraft to include national distribution of Seattle's Best Coffee products in supermarkets and warehouse clubs, including both milder and flavored coffees that Starbucks doesn't sell. Seattle's Best has 3,500 food-service accounts with companies from Alaska Airlines to Royal Caribbean cruise line. Starbucks purchased most of the assets of Seattle's Best Coffee in July 2003 from AFC Enterprises Inc. of Atlanta for about $72 million.

Sonenshine Partners is a leading independent investment bank focused on providing integrated strategic, financial and corporate advisory services.  The firm was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in New York City.