US – Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, two of America’s most popular fast-food restaurant chains will now become part of US restaurant group Inspire Brands.

This is after Inspire Brands agreed to buy Dunkin’ Brands Group, which is the parent company of the two restaurant chains, in a deal worth approximately $11.3 billion.

Following the acquisition which is an all-cash merger agreement, Inspire Brands will assume all of Dunkin’ Brands’ assets and liabilities.

Inspire’s restaurant portfolio already includes major restaurant chains such as Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Jimmy John’s, with over 11,000 locations worldwide.

Dunkin’ Donuts operates over 12,500 coffee and donut outlets worldwide, while Baskin-Robbins runs approximately 8,000 speciality ice cream restaurants.

Following the completion of the transaction, Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins will be operated as distinct brands within Inspire.

Inspire Brands claims that the addition of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins to its group will create a combined foodservice portfolio that operates over 31,600 restaurants in over 60 countries.

The new expanded group will have a labour workforce of approximately 600,000 and is projected to generate US$26 billion in systemwide sales.

Paul Brown, co-founder and CEO of Inspire Brands, said that by joining Inspire, Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins will add complementary guest experiences and occasions to groups current portfolio.

Last week, Dunkin said third quarter sales rose nearly 2% to a Street-beating $361.5 million thanks in part to menu changes and curbside pickup options that boosted traffic amid the summer coronavirus pandemic.

Commenting on the acquisition, KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Eric Gonzalez said: “Inspire’s acquisition of Dunkin’ will be the largest deal in the restaurant industry since Burger King’s purchase of Tim Hortons in 2014.”

Gonzales further noted that, “While we do not expect to see further deals of this magnitude anytime soon, we do wonder whether this transaction is the first of others in the industry.”

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