Royal Cup Coffee secures $192 million financing for Farmer Brothers deal

A $192 million financing package gives Royal Cup Coffee and Tea the cash runway to fold Farmer Brothers Coffee Co. into a larger route-based coffee service platform, a move that could matter for supply steadiness, pricing leverage and day-to-day service for cafes, offices and hospitality buyers.

White Oak Commercial Finance and Hilco Global closed the senior secured credit facility on June 2, splitting it between a $155 million revolving credit line and a $37 million term loan. White Oak served as sole lead arranger and sole lender on the revolver, while Hilco Global acted as administrative agent on the term loan with White Oak as co-lender. The financing supports Royal Cup’s acquisition of Farmer Brothers and gives the combined business ongoing working capital as it absorbs the deal.

That matters because coffee service is built on logistics as much as roasting. Royal Cup said the added capital expands its footprint, manufacturing capabilities and route density, all of which can translate into steadier deliveries and a stronger hand when competing for foodservice, hospitality, office and specialty coffee accounts. A larger platform also gives the company more room to manage beans, equipment and service calls across a broader map, which is exactly the kind of scale buyers in commercial coffee tend to reward.

The transaction has moved quickly. Royal Cup announced the agreement on March 4, 2026, at $1.29 per share in an all-cash deal. Farmer Brothers stockholders approved the merger on May 1, 2026, Royal Cup completed the acquisition on May 5, 2026, and trading in Farmer Brothers common stock on Nasdaq was halted that morning. The companies said the combined business represents nearly 250 years of industry experience, tying together Royal Cup, founded in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1896 as Batterton Coffee Company, and Farmer Brothers, founded in 1912.

Royal Cup, a Braemont Capital portfolio company, says its reach runs across the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. With this financing in place, the company can push the combined platform harder into recurring commercial accounts while lenders signal they still see value in the old-school coffee infrastructure business: branded heritage, route density and repeat service relationships. For cafes, offices and hospitality buyers, that kind of consolidation is less about Wall Street structure than about whether the next bag, brewer or service call shows up on time.