A cup of coffee and a strawberry glazed donut with sprinkles at a Dunkin' Donuts store in Los Angeles on September 6, 2017.
Patricio T. Fallon | Bloomberg | fake images
Owner of Dunkin' and Buffalo Wild Wings Inspire Brands has confidentially filed for an initial public offering, the company announced Friday.
If Inspire goes public, it will be one of the biggest restaurant deals in history. Private equity firm Roark Capital, which backs Inspire, is reportedly seeking a valuation of approximately $20 billion.
Inspire was founded in 2018 through the merger between Arby's and Buffalo Wild Wings. Acquisitions followed: Sonic Drive-In later in 2018 and Jimmy John's in 2019. And in 2020, Inspire took Dunkin' and its sister chain Baskin Robbins private in an $11 billion deal.
Across those six chains, Inspire has more than 33,300 restaurants worldwide and $33.4 billion in annual sales, according to the company's website.
Inspire is not the only restaurant company seeking an initial public offering (IPO). Last month, Jersey Mike's also announced that it had filed a confidential filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The IPO market has been lukewarm, although that could change later this year. Market volatility, economic uncertainty, and the recent poor performance of IPO stocks have caused a buildup in listings.
However, several blockbuster IPOs are expected in the coming months, such as SpaceX's offering, which could value the company at more than $1 trillion.
