October 31, 2020
(Reuters) – Inspire Brands Inc will buy Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc <DNKN.O> for $8.76 billion, the two companies said on Friday, bringing chains like Arby’s and Dunkin’ Donuts under the same umbrella in one of the largest restaurant deals.
Inspire Brands, which owns Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and Sonic Drive-In, said its all-cash deal to take the owner of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins chains private would value it at $106.50 a share. That represents a nearly 20% premium over Dunkin’s last closing share price on Oct. 23, before the New York Times first reported the deal talks.
Including debt, the deal is valued at about $11.3 billion, Inspire Brands said.
Sales at Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins have improved from their lockdown lows in recent weeks, boosted by strong demand for its curbside pickup, drive-thru and delivery options.
Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins on Thursday posted a surprise rise in U.S. comparable sales in the third quarter.
(Reporting by Shubham Kalia and Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Leslie Adler)