Krispy Kreme said this week that it had confidentially filed with U.S. regulators for an initial public offering, a move that would result in the doughnut chain’s return to the stock market five years after it was taken private.
The 83-year-old, Winston-Salem, NC-based doughnut chain’s filing seeks to capitalize on the massive level of interest — and money — floating around the stock market right now. Companies raised a record $167 billion in 2020, according to Dealogic data. Krispy Kreme has been remodeling its stores and opening blockbuster new locations, including one in Times Square. That location clocks in at a whopping 4,500 square feet and features a glaze waterfall and a doughnut-making theater that the company says produces 4,560 doughnuts every hour.
The company first went public in 2000, but it had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy following financial restatements, investigations into its accounting practices and a plunge in sales at some of its franchisees.
The doughnut chain was bought by privately owned JAB Holding Co in a $1.35 billion deal in 2016 when the investment firm was ramping up its bets on coffee and restaurant businesses.
Krispy Kreme’s move would help it tap into a historic boom in U.S. capital markets, with companies raising $167 billion in 2020, according to Dealogic data, a record that investment bankers expect will be surpassed this year.
It also comes at a time when demand is rising for snacks and sweets from customers craving familiar treats while staying at home due to COVID-19 restrictions.
