Matthew Algie, the Glasgow-based coffee supplier, has been sold to Tchibo, for an undisclosed sum.
The Scottish based company was founded 152 years ago in Greenock, and had remained privately owned in the hands of the Williamson family for seven generations.
Matthew Algie helped pioneer fair trade coffee and espresso in the British market.
It now employs 220 people, supplying premium brand coffee to restaurants and cafes throughout the UK and Ireland.
Under German ownership, it is to operate separately under its current management, and the brand is to be retained, with the potential for expansion into Tchibo's existing markets in central Europe.
Tchibo is one of the world's biggest coffee roasters, with annual turnover of more than £3bn.
It has been in the British market for 25 years.