Peet’s Coffee Trims Stock Offering Plans

Gourmet coffee shop chain Peet’s Coffee & Tea Inc. scaled back its initial public stock offering plans Tuesday, a blow to the company and to its underwriter, W.R. Hambrecht & Co.

Peet’s, based in Emeryville, Calif., is now asking between $8 and $10 a share, down from $10 to $14. The offering of 3.3 million shares is slated for completion today or Thursday.

Hambrecht, an online investment bank, is using its “Dutch auction” system to sell stock in Peet’s. It began accepting bids for the stock in December. The deal is the first IPO that Hambrecht has attempted in eight months--and the first IPO for any U.S. company in 2001.

Weak demand could cast a pall over other IPOs in the pipeline. The market for new stocks has virtually been shut down since late December as investors have turned more cautious.

Peet’s expects to trade on Nasdaq under the symbol PEET.