A massive company most people have never heard of owns some of the most famous coffee and cafe chains in the world, including Panera Bread, Krispy Kreme, and Pret a Manger

JAB also owns Caribou Coffee Co., which it acquired in 2013for $340 million. Caribou Coffee is based in Minnesota.

JAB struck a deal in 2013 to buy the coffee company D.E. Master Blenders 1753, which had been spun out of Sara Lee Corp. a year earlier, for $9.8 billion.

Jacobs Douwe Egberts is the world's biggest coffee company, with revenues totaling more than 5 billion euros. That entity was formed as a result of a merger between another JAB brand and Mondelez International coffee products, which closed earlier this year. Mondelez maintains a 44% stake in the combined company.

JAB also bought Einstein Noah, a Colorado-based bagel company, in a $370 million deal. Einstein Noah was founded in 1995 and was operating more than 850 US stores at the time of the sale.

JAB reached a deal worth more than $300 million to buy Espresso House, the leading coffee chain in Sweden and Norway, in 2015.

Peet's has since gone on a buying spree, picking up two US brands — Intelligentsia and Stumptown— in 2016. They are based in Chicago and Portland, Oregon.

JAB also has investments in top European brands, including Marcilla Professional, Pickwick, and Friele, to name a few. The company also owns the leading makers of high-end brewing products.

That December, JAB announced plans to buy Keurig for about $13.9 billion.

JAB and its partners spent about $1.35 billion to buy Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.

Panera's then-CEO, Ron Shaich, said the acquisition —announced in 2017— allowed Panera to focus more on long-term success as opposed to short-term sales.

The two brands have strikingly similar menus, selling sandwiches, salads, soups, and coffee with an emphasis on nutrition that many fast-food competitors do not have.

Pret has been rapidly building out its international presence, opening locations in the US, Hong Kong and China, and France, adding to its already strong presence in the UK.

The terms of the deal were not announced, though a source told CNBC that the then-unannounced deal would value Insomnia Cookies at less than $500 million.

Core is best known for its bottled water brand, Core Hydration, and fruit hydration brand, Core Organic.

Frank Chaparro, Jonathan Marino, and Rachel Butt contributed to earlier versions of this post.