Dunkin’ is negotiating a sale to Inspire Brands

Dunkin' Donuts announced on Tuesday it's dropping the "Donuts" from its name.

Dunkin’ is in talks to sell its business to Inspire Brands, the owner of Jimmy John’s and Arby’s.

Ameila Lucas from CNBC reported:

Shares of Dunkin’ surged 15% Monday after the company confirmed sale talks with Inspire Brands, the privately held owner of Arby’s and Jimmy John’s.
The New York Times, which broke the news of the discussions, reported that the deal is valued at $8.8 billion, or $106.50 per share. The price represents a 20% premium over Dunkin’s closing price on Friday. Shares are currently trading $102.55, giving the company a market value of $8.4 billion. The stock has risen 38% this year.

The Wall Street Journal’s Dave Sebastian wrote:

The acquisition offer comes as the coffee, doughnut and ice cream chain has wrestled with lower sales due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The company, which has a market value of $7.3 billion based on Friday’s closing price, in late July said it would close around 800 U.S. locations that had low sales volumes and were mostly unprofitable before the pandemic.

Alexis Stevens from the Chicago Tribune noted:

Dunkin’ would give Inspire a spot in the breakfast category, which was the fastest-growing segment of the restaurant industry before the pandemic hit.
Inspire is part of the private equity company Roark Capital Group, also based in Atlanta. Roark also backs Focus Brands — the owner of Auntie Anne’s Pretzels and Cinnabon — and CKE Restaurants, which owns the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s burger chains.

Irina Slav