Starbucks denied a takeover rumor Monday, Oct. 12, telling multiple news outlets it has no plans to acquire Chipotle Mexican Grill, whose headquarters sits in Newport Center.

A Starbucks spokesperson told CNBC's Jim Cramer the company is not buying Chipotle.

The denial followed four days of speculation that began Thursday, Oct. 8, when the Financial Times reported Starbucks had been working with advisers on a potential Chipotle takeover. Chipotle’s roughly $41 billion market value suggested that a takeover could become the largest restaurant acquisition in history, exceeding Burger King’s $11.4 billion Tim Hortons transaction in 2014.

For Newport Beach, the stakes were direct. Chipotle is one of Orange County's most prominent publicly traded companies, and CEO Brian Niccol moved the chain's headquarters from Denver to Newport Beach in 2018 during his tenure leading Chipotle. Niccol now runs Starbucks from an office near Chipotle's Newport Center campus, according to the Orange County Business Journal.

Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright, who succeeded Niccol, has told the Orange County Business Journal he meets regularly with his predecessor.

Markets reacted sharply to both the rumor and the denial. After the Financial Times report, Chipotle shares jumped about 6% to $32.60 with a $42 billion market cap, while Starbucks shares fell 4.4%. On Oct. 12, those moves reversed: Chipotle dropped nearly 4%, and Starbucks climbed about 1%, according to CNBC.

Analysts had questioned the deal's logic from the start. TD Cowen analyst Andrew Charles called a merger "a low-probability outcome at this stage," according to Quartz. Restaurant consultant John Gordon, founder of San Diego-based Pacific Management Consulting Group, told the Orange County Business Journal that the financial burden of a deal this size posed a challenge and that synergy between the two chains was hard to see.

"No one at Chipotle wants a cup of coffee," Gordon said in the Oct. 10 report.

Starbucks also pointed to its ongoing turnaround, telling CBS News its team is focused on executing its "Back to Starbucks" strategy and plans to release fourth-quarter results and fiscal 2027 guidance later in October.