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Private company

Dunkin' Brands

Logo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons5

American restaurant company

Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. was an American restaurant holding company that ran three chains of fast-food restaurants: Dunkin' Donuts, Mister Donut, and Baskin-Robbins. It was headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts. It was acquired by Inspire Brands in 2020.3 Its chief executive is Nigel Travis.1 It employed 1,163 people in 2016.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1950Founded1
  • Industrygastronomy1
  • HeadquartersCanton1
  • Legal formDelaware corporation1
  • Listed onNasdaq (DNKN)1
  • Incorporated inDE6
  • Business address130 Royall Street, Canton, Ma 020216
  • Filer categoryLarge accelerated filer6
  • LEI2BD6A66TQN3SMNY1KD334
  • StatusActive4
  • LEI statusLapsed (not renewed)4
  • Registered addressC/O CORPORATION SERVICE COMPANY, 19801 Wilmington, United States4
  • Registered withDivision of Corporations, Department of State, 7970874

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Dunkin Brands headquarters
Photo: Coolcaesar at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons8

Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. was an American restaurant holding company that ran three chains of fast-food restaurants: Dunkin' Donuts, Mister Donut, and Baskin-Robbins. It was headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts. It was acquired by Inspire Brands in 2020.3

Corporate structure

Dunkin' Brands sits at the top of its group. 4 entities, 2 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

What it owns

What Dunkin' Brands reports owning in its annual reports to the SEC: buildings, land and equipment, real estate and locations, investments, intangible assets and inventory, at the end of its latest fiscal year and a year before.

Property and equipment

ItemLatestA year beforeChange
Property and equipment, before depreciation$395.1M9 Dec 28, 2019$356.8M9 Dec 29, 2018+10.8%
Accumulated depreciation$172.0M9 Dec 28, 2019$147.6M9 Dec 29, 2018+16.6%
Property and equipment, net$223.1M9 Dec 28, 2019$209.2M9 Dec 29, 2018+6.7%
Finance-lease assets$5.6M9 Dec 28, 2019
Operating-lease assets (leased space)$371.3M9 Dec 28, 2019$388.8M9 Dec 30, 2018−4.5%

Investments

ItemLatestA year beforeChange
Cash and cash equivalents$621.2M9 Dec 28, 2019$517.6M9 Dec 29, 2018+20.0%
Stakes in other companies (equity method)$154.8M9 Dec 28, 2019$146.4M9 Dec 29, 2018+5.7%

Intangibles and goodwill

ItemLatestA year beforeChange
Goodwill$888.3M9 Dec 28, 2019$888.3M9 Dec 29, 20180%
Intangible assets, net (excluding goodwill)$1.3B9 Dec 28, 2019$1.3B9 Dec 30, 2018−1.4%
Accumulated amortization$253.6M9 Dec 28, 2019$265.8M9 Dec 29, 2018−4.6%

Stakes and holdings (Wikidata)

Things Wikidata records the company as owning, with the share when stated.1

The story

Allied-Lyons

In 1973, British food company J. Lyons & Co. purchased Baskin-Robbins from United Brands. J. Lyons and Co. merged with Allied Breweries, becoming Allied-Lyons in 1978. In 1990, Allied-Lyons acquired Dunkin' Donuts and Mister Donut.

Allied Quick Service Restaurants

In 1994, Allied-Lyons merged with Pedro Domecq S.A., becoming Allied Domecq. The restaurant operations were merged under a subsidiary named Allied Domecq Quick Service Restaurants. In 1997, Togo's was acquired by Allied Domecq.

Dunkin' Brands

In 2004, Allied Domecq Quick Service Restaurants was renamed "Dunkin' Brands, Inc.". On December 12, 2005, Pernod Ricard, which had just taken control of Allied Domecq, announced the sale of Dunkin' Brands to a consortium of private equity firms consisting of Bain Capital, The Carlyle Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners for $2.425 billion in cash. Dunkin' Brands, Inc. was renamed "Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc." after the transaction.

On November 30, 2007, Dunkin' Brands sold Togo's to Mainsail Partners, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, in partnership with Tony Gioia, a former president of Baskin-Robbins.

In July 2011, Dunkin' Brands completed its initial public offering and became listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (NASDAQ-GS large cap) under the symbol "DNKN".

In August 2012, Dunkin' Brands became completely independent of private equity firms.

In October 2017, Dunkin' Brands announced the company would invest $100 million in United States locations of Dunkin’ Donuts’. The company also said they are considering a name change to the shortened Dunkin'. The name change is being tested in a California location and a new store in Quincy, Massachusetts.

On July 30, 2020, the organization announced it would permanently close 800 of its donut and coffee shops by the end of the year due to a sales slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic, primary locations inside convenience stores, namely Speedway.

Read the full text

Dunkin' Brands reported in October 2020 that negotiations were being held with the private equity-backed company Inspire Brands for Inspire to acquire the company. The potential deal includes Dunkin' Brands private stocks would be sold at $106.50 a share, a 20 percent premium over the closing prices reported on the 23rd of October, implying that the company is being evaluated at around $8.8 billion. A statement released by Dunkin' claimed that "there is no certainty that any agreement will be reached" and that no further comments will be released until an agreed-upon transaction is found. Shares of the Dunkin' Brand have reportedly risen 33% in 2020 because of the possible Inspire Brands' deal.

On October 30, 2020, Dunkin' Brands announced that it would be acquired by Arby's owner Inspire Brands in a transaction valued at $11.3 billion, including the assumption of Dunkin' Brands' debt. The deal closed on December 15, 2020. Dunkin' Brands ceased to exist as a separate company, with Dunkin', Baskin-Robbins, and the trademark management of Mister Donut, becoming part of Inspire Brands.

From Wikipedia’s article on Dunkin' Brands, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7

Leadership

Who has led Dunkin' Brands, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Chief executive

  1. Nigel Travis2011–2018
  2. David L. Hoffmann2018–2020

Chair

  1. Nigel Travis2013–2018

President

  1. Nigel Travis2011–2013
  2. Yanofsky Neal2011
  3. Giorgio Minardi2012–2013
  4. John H. Costello2013–2016
  5. Paul E. Twohig2013–2017
  6. David L. Hoffmann2016–2019

Chief financial officer

  1. Neil Moses2011–2012
  2. Paul C. Carbone2012–2017
  3. Katherine D. Jaspon2017–2020

Chief operating officer

  1. Paul E. Twohig2011–2013
197019801990200020102020
Board members and other officers (33)

Products and brands

Baskin-Robbins

Dunkin'

Mister Donut

From Wikipedia’s article on Dunkin' Brands, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7

Subsidiaries and ownership

Subsidiaries

From Wikidata.1

Acquisitions

  1. 1990Mister Donut became a subsidiary1
  2. 1989Dunkin' became a subsidiary1
  3. 1973Baskin-Robbins became a subsidiary1

Employees over time

  • 20161,1631

Former names

  • DUNKIN' BRANDS GROUP HOLDINGS, INC.Jun 4, 2010 to Mar 21, 20116
  • DUNKIN BRANDS GROUP HOLDINGS, INCSep 4, 2009 to Sep 4, 20096
  • DUNKIN BRANDS GROUP HOLDINGS INCMar 16, 2006 to Aug 17, 20066

Timeline

  1. Dec 2020Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. Jul 12, 2018New chief executive David L. Hoffmann becomes CEO10
  3. Jul 27, 2011New chief executive Nigel Travis becomes CEO1
  4. Jul 27, 2011Went public Listed on NASDAQ1
  5. 1950Founded Founded1

Members of Congress who traded it

4 trades disclosed by members of Congress. “Vs S&P since” is the stock’s change since the trade minus the S&P 500’s.

DateMemberTradeAmountVs S&P sinceFiling
Dec 16, 2020Susan M. CollinsRepublican, SenateSale$50,001 - $100,000Report
Apr 17, 2020Ron WydenDemocratic, SenateBuy$15,001 - $50,000Report
Apr 6, 2020Ron WydenDemocratic, SenateBuy$1,001 - $15,000Report
Feb 5, 2020Susie LeeDemocratic, HouseSale$1,001 - $15,000Report

Members report amounts as ranges, not exact figures. Returns are price-only (no dividends).

SEC filer profile

How Dunkin' Brands is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, from its EDGAR record and the cover page of its latest annual report.

  • Name on EDGARDUNKIN' BRANDS GROUP, INC.2
  • CIK0001357204
  • Filer statusLarge accelerated filer2
  • Incorporated inDelaware2
  • Fiscal year endsDecember 262
  • Industry code (SIC)5810 Retail-Eating & Drinking Places2
  • Business address130 Royall Street, Canton, MA 020212
  • Phone78173745162
  • Shares outstanding82,417,076 as of Oct 30, 202054
  • Public float$6.6B as of Jun 29, 20199
  • On EDGAR sinceMar 16, 20062
  • Filings1,230 in all: 4 (805), 8-K (123), SC 13G/A (54), 3 (44), 10-Q (29), SC 13G (18), 4/A (14), DEFA14A (12)2
    All 42 form types

    UPLOAD (11), 10-K (9), DEF 14A (9), SC 14D9/A (9), 11-K (8), CORRESP (8), SC TO-T/A (8), S-1/A (6), SC14D9C (6), D (5), S-8 POS (5), ARS (4), S-8 (4), SC TO-C (4), 10-K/A (3), 424B4 (3), 5 (3), EFFECT (3), NO ACT (3), S-1 (3), 424B7 (2), 8-K/A (2), REGDEX (2), 15-12B (1), 25-NSE (1), 3/A (1), 8-A12B (1), CERTNAS (1), FWP (1), PX14A6G (1), S-1MEF (1), S-3ASR (1), SC 14D9 (1), SC TO-T (1)

  • Latest filingsAnnual report (10-K) Feb 24, 2020
    Quarterly report (10-Q) Nov 5, 2020
    Proxy statement (DEF 14A) Apr 2, 2020
    Latest 8-K (8-K) Dec 15, 2020

Sources

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