Mondelez International Inc. and D.E Master Blenders 1753 B.V. said on Wednesday that they plan to combine their coffee businesses to create a global coffee company with annual revenue of more than $7 billion. Mondelez also announced a new restructuring program that it expects will generate annualized savings of at least $1.5 billion by 2018.  The moves come after Deerfield-based Mondelez faced months of pressure to improve its results. The maker of Oreo cookies named activist investor Nelson Peltz to its board earlier this year. The new coffee company will give Mondelez and D.E Master Blenders a better chance to focus on coffee and stand out in what is described as an $81 billion global market. The new coffee company is set to be called Jacobs Douwe Egberts and will be based in the Netherlands, the companies said in a joint statement. Mondelez will have a 49 percent stake the coffee company and is set to receive after-tax cash proceeds of about $5 billion once the combination is completed. Mondelez is bringing brands such as Jacobs, Carte Noire, Gevalia and Tassimo to the new coffee company, while D.E Master Blenders brings brands such as Douwe Egberts, L'OR, Pilao and Senseo. D.E Master Blenders was spun off from Sara Lee Corp. in 2012. In 2013, Germany’s Joh A Benckiser bought D.E. Master Blenders as it continued a mission of scooping up coffee companies following its acquisitions of Caribou Coffee Co. and Peet’s Coffee and Tea. Pierre Laubies, CEO of D.E Master Blenders 1753, is the prospective CEO of the combined coffee company.  Mondelez said its coffee portfolio has outpaced market growth since 2010, helped by products such as the Tassimo on-demand brewing system. The company's coffee unit generated about $3.9 billion in revenue last year. Retaining a significant stake in the combined company will allow Mondelez to benefit from the future growth of the coffee category, Chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld said in a statement. The deal is expected to close during 2015. Mondelez said it expects to use most of its cash proceeds from the deal to buy back more shares, subject to board approval; to reduce debt and for general corporate purposes. Mondelez also posted first-quarter adjusted earnings of 39 cents per share, topping Wall Street’s expectations for a profit of 35 cents per share. Source: chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-mondelez-earnings-20140507,0,2493964.story