The Krispy Kreme doughnut company is returning to equity markets five years after filing for bankruptcy protection.
The company that specializes in making hot doughnuts fresh from the oven has filed with U.S. regulators for an initial public offering (IPO), a move that would result in the doughnut chain's return to the stock market five years after it was taken private amid a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
The company first went public in 2000, but it had to file for bankruptcy after several financial restatements, investigations into its accounting practices and a plunge in sales at some of its franchisees.
Krispy Kreme was then bought by privately owned JAB Holding Co. in a $1.35 billion U.S. deal in 2016 when the investment firm was ramping up its holdings of coffee and restaurant businesses.
The doughnut chain's new IPO would help Krispy Kreme tap into a historic boom in U.S. capital markets, with companies raising $167 billion U.S. in 2020, according to Dealogic data, a record level that investment bankers expect will be surpassed this year.
As a part of a promotion earlier this year, the company gave away free glazed doughnuts to anyone who showed a valid COVID-19 vaccination card at a Krispy Kreme store in the U.S.
Known for its glazed sugary treats, Krispy Kreme opened its first store in North Carolina in 1937 when it started selling doughnuts in local grocery stores. It now sells its treats in 12,000 grocery and convenience stores in the U.S. and operates nearly 1,400 shops in 33 countries.
