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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -
A deal is near for three private-equity firms to buy Dunkin' Brands for about $2 billion, according to a published report.
The New York Times reports that the buyers of the operator of donut stores and other chains will be Thomas H. Lee Partners, Bain Group and the Carlyle Group. The group is being sold by Pernod Ricard, the French beverage and spirits company, which earlier this year bought Dunkin' Brands owner Allied Domecq, the British liquor company, for $14 billion.
The paper reports that other companies eyeing Dunkin' Brands include J. P. Morgan Chase with Providence Equity Partners, and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company with Trimaran Capital Partners. Triarc, the owner of 3,500 Arby's restaurants, also looked at the unit.
Dunkin' Brands has 6,000 Dunkin' Donuts franchises worldwide. The unit also includes the Baskin-Robbins ice cream chain, which has 5,400 outlets worldwide, as well as 400 Togo's sandwich shops in the United States, according to the paper. The Times reports that the unit generated $4.8 billion in revenue last year with a gross profit of $362 million.
The paper reports that in addition to benefiting from troubles at competitor Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (Research), Dunkin' Donuts has plans to expand with a larger push in the high-end coffee market, making it a more direct competitor with Starbucks (Research).
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