Tata Coffee to Buy Eight O' Clock Coffee

(AP) NEW DELHI

India's largest coffee growing company, Tata Coffee Ltd., said it has signed a deal to acquire U.S.-based Eight O'Clock Coffee Co. from Gryphon Investors for $220 million.

Gryphon Investors is a San Francisco-based private equity firm that bought Eight O'Clock Coffee from its parent company - The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. - in 2004.

The acquisition will help the Indian company gain a foothold in the U.S. market and leverage the Eight O'Clock Coffee brand to become a global player, Tata Coffee Managing Director M.H. Ashraff said in a statement Sunday.

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