Inspire Brands eyes acquisition of pandemic-hobbled Dunkin'

Inspire Brands has held preliminary discussions to acquire Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robbins chains owner Dunkin' Brands Group for roughly $8.8 billion at $106.50 a share, months after the latter announced plans to close up to 800 underperforming stores in the US.

An announcement is expected soon.

However, there is yet no certainty that any agreement would be reached, says Karen Raskopf, Chief Communications Officer of Dunkin’ Brands.

According to Dunkin' Chief Financial Officer Katherine Jaspon, the company announced the closures of 800 branches to allow their franchisees to put up stores in higher-traffic areas.

Dunkin' dropped “Donut” from its name last year to shift its emphasis to coffee.

The pandemic has changed the habits of Dunkin' customers who were forced to work at home as they now choose to head out for coffee later in the day.

Inspire Brands spokeswoman Selden Hunnicutt declined to discuss the possible sale, saying that they do not comment on rumors around potential acquisition targets.

Inspire Brands is a private equity-backed restaurant company with a portfolio of more than 11,000 Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, SONIC Drive-In, Rusty Taco, and Jimmy John’s locations worldwide.

Founded in February 2018, Inspire Brands now owns more than 11,000 restaurants and has posted sales of $14.6 billion.