Food & Beverage

Krispy Kreme 'confidentially' files for IPO

Photo: File/provided.

May 5, 2021

Krispy Kreme told Reuters Tuesday it "confidentially" filed for an initial public offering with U.S. regulators.

If the IPO becomes reality, it would mark the doughnut chain's return to public trading after being taken private five years ago. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission must still review and approve the filing to become reality.

The IPO move would also most certainly bring cash into the chain, which has reported success in the last year in the pandemic environment where customers increasingly have sought snacks and other off-site edibles from the restaurant industry.

Krispy Kreme, based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, originally became a publicly traded company 21 years ago. However, it later filed for bankruptcy and then was purchased by the privately owned JAB Holding Co. in 2016.

The chain originally opened its first store in its home-base state in 1937 and now also sells doughnuts in 12,000 retailers in the U.S. along with its nearly 1,400 shops in 33 countries. The chain had not responded to QSRweb's request for comment or additional information at the time of this writing.