There have been speculations that Starbucks and Peet’s Coffee and Tea, Incorporated, are in talks about a possible business deal. A dealReporter.com article stated that Starbucks is planning to buy Peet’s and other potential businesses over the next year and a half.

In an interview last December, Starbucks CFO Troy Alstead said that the company plans to diversify its services from being a specialty retailer which only focuses on coffee to a global company with various growth platforms in a number of channels.

Peet’s Coffee and Tea, Inc. is in a similar kind of business as Starbucks. It is based in Emeryville, California and sells packed tea and coffee in a number of shops, as well as in grocery stores. In 2010, Peet’s was reported to have an increase in its grocery sales by 24 percent. In early January, Peet’s has been operating in six states with 192 stores.

It has been said that the coffee and tea business is where Starbucks got its inspiration from. Peet’s was even an original coffee bean supplier for Starbucks Seattle in 1971.

Peet’s has already expressed its interest in entering into the market of ‘single-cup coffee.’ dealReporter.com has also stated that Peet’s had attempted to acquire Diedrich coffee earlier this year, however, Green Mountain outbid Peet’s on it. Peet’s has not released a statement regarding the news about the Starbucks deal.

Starbucks has also stated that it will not give a comment on what it regards as “speculation or a market rumor.”