The doughnut chain's stock price soared to a new all-time high Monday after it announced plans to sell itself to Inspire Brands, the private equity-backed conglomerate behind Arby's and Buffalo Wild
Dunkin’ Brands Group’s $11 billion takeover deal looks pretty sweet to Wall Street.
The doughnut chain’s stock price soared to a new all-time high Monday after it announced plans to sell itself to Inspire Brands, the private equity-backed conglomerate behind Arby’s and Buffalo Wild Wings.
Dunkin’ shares climbed roughly 6.5 percent to an intraday peak of $106.18, just shy of the $106.50 per share that Inspire agreed to pay for the Massachusetts-based company in a deal valued at $11.3 billion, including the Dunkin’ debt that Inspire will take on.
The acquisition will take Dunkin’ private and add its more than 20,000 coffee shops and Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlors to Inspire’s massive portfolio of quick-service restaurants, which will comprise more than 31,000 locations once the deal closes by the end of the year, the companies said.
The deal “is a testament to the work we’ve done together to transform Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins into modern, relevant brands for millions of people every day around the world,” Dunkin’ Brands CEO Dave Hoffmann said in a note to employees.
Dunkin’ and Inspire — which is backed by Atlanta-based private-equity firm Roark Capital — announced the tie-up late Friday, five days after confirming they were discussing a deal to return Dunkin’ to private ownership after about nine years as a publicly-traded company.
The takeover will give Inspire a stronger foothold in the breakfast market and boost its total sales to $26 billion from their current level of $15 billion.
“By joining Inspire, these brands will add complimentary guest experiences and occasions to our current portfolio,” Inspire CEO Paul Brown said of Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins.
The coronavirus pandemic hammered Dunkin’ and other restaurant chains earlier in the year, but the company posted just a 1.3 percent year-over-year decline in sales for the third quarter, a significant improvement from the prior quarter’s 20.8 percent drop.
The turnaround was helped by a 0.9 percent bounce in comparable sales at Dunkin’s US stores as customers spent more on bigger orders and specialty drinks such as espresso, the company said Thursday.
With Post wires
