The restaurant operator is in looking to acquire Dunkin’ Brands and its two chains, Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins in a potential multibillion dollar deal.
Inspire Brands already has an impressive portfolio that consists of brands including Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Jimmy John’s and Sonic. It’s owned by private equity firm Roark Capital who also back Focus Brands which owns Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, Cinnabon and CKE Restaurants.
The addition of Dunkin’ Brands to Inspire’s portfolio would expand the group’s offerings in the breakfast category – the fastest growing segment of the restaurant industry prior to Covid-19.
The restaurant chain has been valued at nearly $9bn and the completion of the takeover would come at 20 per cent premium to Dunkin’s share price. As with many other restaurant operators, Dunkin’ Brands locations have been hit relatively hard by the impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic, the company was able to leverage the increasingly popular drive-thru model and now 70 per cent of the brands locations offer drive-thru.
