The Maxwell House factory in Jacksonville, Florida.
Food and beverage giant Kraft Heinz is selling its North American coffee business — including Maxwell House, Gevalia and five other coffee brands — to private equity firm One Rock Capital Partners in a deal valued at $650 million.
Under the agreement announced today, Kraft Heinz will retain a 30% non-controlling ownership stake in the business. The company expects approximately $500 million in net cash proceeds after taxes, which it plans to use to reduce debt.
The deal includes the Maxwell House, Gevalia, Nabob, Yuban, Tassimo, Ethical Bean and Sanka brands, along with coffee manufacturing facilities in Jacksonville, Florida, and Vancouver, British Columbia.
Approximately 250 full-time employees across manufacturing, sales, marketing, finance, human resources and research and development are expected to transition with the business.
The transaction is expected to close in mid-2027, subject to regulatory approval and other conditions.
The proposed sale follows a broader restructuring effort at Kraft Heinz, which announced plans to split into two publicly traded companies in September 2025 before pausing those plans in February.
One Rock specializes in acquiring and restructuring businesses, including corporate divestitures. The firm previously acquired Nestlé’s North American bottled water business in 2021.
“We intend to accelerate investment across the brand portfolio to drive growth and innovation, enhance the consumer experience, and strengthen relationships with retail partners,” One Rock Managing Partner Tony W. Lee said.
The deal marks a significant departure from coffee for Kraft Heinz, whose corporate predecessors have held major coffee brands for decades.
Maxwell House was part of General Foods, which was combined with Kraft in 1989 under then-parent Philip Morris. The coffee business remained with Kraft Foods Group following the company’s 2012 separation from what became Mondelēz International. Kraft subsequently merged with H.J. Heinz in 2015.
Kraft Heinz also expanded into specialty coffee in 2018 through its acquisition of the assets of Vancouver-based Ethical Bean Coffee, a Fairtrade- and organic-certified roasting company established in 2003.
The sale comes amid continued volatility in green coffee markets. In its 2025 financial results, Kraft Heinz cited higher coffee costs as a driver of consumer price increases, alongside declining coffee sales volumes. The company did not disclose the coffee division’s revenue or profitability in the sale announcement.
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