JAB Holding Co.’s acquisition of Panera Bread Co. for roughly $7.16 billion marks the latest in a string of buyouts by representatives of one of Germany’s wealthiest and most reclusive families. The family dynasty dates to ​1823, when Johann Adam Benckiser founded a chemical company bearing his name in Pforzheim, Germany, according to wealth analysts Wealth-X. Chemist Ludwig Reimann joined Benckiser as co-owner in 1828 and...

Source: Wall Street Journal April 05, 2017 16:18 UTC