Chobani buys coffee shop chain La Colombe for $900 million

• It already has a line of cafes, and provides related products like coffee creamers, but this should supercharge that part of the business (while maintaining La Colombe as an independent brand).

Backstory, per the Philadelphia Inquirer: "The founders of La Colombe, Todd Carmichael and J.P. Iberti, met in 1987 in the mosh pit of a Seattle grunge bar. Carmichael was a coffee roaster and an alum of Starbucks, and Iberti was working part-time for Torrefazione Italia, an Italian coffee company."

Details: This is something of an insider deal, as Chobani founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya bought a majority stake in La Colombe eight years ago from private equity firm Goode Partners. No word yet on if he recused himself from the negotiations.

• Chobani financed the deal via a new $550 million term loan, cash on hand, and the exchange of Keurig Dr Pepper's (Nasdaq: KDP) minority stake in La Colombe for Chobani equity.
• Existing Chobani backers include Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan.