Dunkin’ reveals plan for IPO, debt reduction
5/5/2011NEW YORK — Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc., the parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, Wednesday filed regulatory papers saying it plans to raise as much as $400 million by selling shares to the public, using most of the money to pay off debt.
The company didn’t say when its initial public stock offering might be, or how many shares it would offer. It hopes to have a ticker symbol of DNKN on Nasdaq.
Dunkin’ Brands is owned by private-equity firms, which bought it in 2005 from wine and spirits distributor Pernod Ricard. The owners, Bain Capital Partners, Carlyle Group, and Thomas H. Lee Partners, do not plan to sell their shares, the company said.
The company said it would use its proceeds from the stock offering to pay down about $475 million in high-interest debt owed to banks.