Inspire Brands LLC
Company typePrivate
PredecessorsArby's Restaurant Group, Inc.
Dunkin' Brands
FoundedFebruary 5, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-02-05)
FoundersNeal Aronson and Paul J. Brown
Headquarters
Sandy Springs, Georgia
,
United States
Number of locations
31,700 (2023[1])
Areas served
Key people
Paul J. Brown (CEO)
Subsidiaries
Websiteinspirebrands.com

Inspire Brands LLC is an American fast-food restaurant franchise company. Owned by Roark Capital Group, it owns the Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic Drive-In, Jimmy John's, Mister Donut, Dunkin' Donuts, and Baskin-Robbins chains, which have a combined 31,700 locations and US$30 billion in system sales.[1][5][6]

History

Inspire Brands was formed when Arby's Restaurant Group merged with Buffalo Wild Wings on February 5, 2018. Buffalo Wild Wings also owned the Rusty Taco chain.[7][8] Arby's CEO Paul Brown was selected to continue as Inspire Brands CEO.[7] Brown expected that Inspire would acquire additional chains in different segments. He plans to structure the company similar to Hilton Hotels & Resorts.[9] Co-owner The Wendy's Company's stake was reduced from 18.5% to 12.3% due to the infusion of capital from Roark Capital to fund the purchase.[10] In September 2018, Inspire had the 27-location R Taco reverted to the Rusty Taco name.[11]

On August 16, 2018, The Wendy's Company announced that it sold its 12.3% stake in Inspire Brands back to the company for $450 million, which included a 38% premium over the stake's most recent valuation.[5] On August 28, 2018, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal announced that Inspire was moving its headquarters to Sandy Springs, Georgia in 2019.[12]

Inspire Brands on September 25, 2018, announced that it was buying Oklahoma City-based Sonic Drive-In for $2.3 billion.[13] The acquisition was completed on December 7, 2018.[14]

Inspire Brands announced that it was buying Jimmy John's on September 25, 2019.[6][15] The deal closed on October 18, 2019.[16]

Inspire received Franchise Times’ 2019 Dealmaker of the Year award for its acquisitions of Buffalo Wild Wings and Sonic Drive-In.[17]

Inspire Brands on October 25, 2020, announced that it was buying Dunkin' Brands for $11.3 billion. [18][19] The acquisition was completed on December 15, 2020.[20]

On December 19, 2022, Inspire Brands announced that it had sold Rusty Taco to Gala Capital Partners, owner of Cicis Pizza, Dunn Brothers Coffee, and Mooyah.[21]

Brands

As of October 2023, the chains that the company owns and/or operates include:

References

  1. ^ a b "Inspire Brands and the Making of a Restaurant Group Unlike Any Other". QSR. August 1, 2023.
  2. ^ "Arby's FAQ". Arby's.
  3. ^ "Choose Country". buffalowildwings.com. Buffalo Wild Wings. Archived from the original on November 15, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  4. ^ "Inspire Brands Fact Sheet" (PDF). inspirebrands.com. Inspire Brands. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 15, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Wendy's sells stake in Arby's owner for $450 million". CNBC. August 16, 2018. Archived from the original on October 6, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Dyer, Kristian (September 25, 2019). "Arby's owner beefs up portfolio, eating up another fast-food franchise". Fox Business. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Thorn, Bret (February 5, 2018). "Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings new parent Inspire Brands debuts". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  8. ^ "Arby's closes deal for Buffalo Wild Wings, makes new company". Star Tribune. Associated Press. February 5, 2018. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  9. ^ Klein, Danny (February 5, 2018). "Arby's CEO: We're Not Done Buying Brands After BWW". QSR magazine. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  10. ^ Klein, Danny (August 2018). "Wendy's Sells Inspire Brands Stake for $450 Million". QSR Magazine.
  11. ^ Romeo, Peter (September 5, 2018). "Inspire Brands reveals plans for its 3rd brand, now Rusty Taco". Restaurant Business. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  12. ^ Neighbor Newspapers Staff (August 28, 2018). "Inspire Brands bringing 1,100 jobs, $32 million to Sandy Springs". Northside Neighbor. Marietta Daily Journal. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  13. ^ Thorn, Bret (September 25, 2018). "Inspire Brands to buy Sonic Corp. for $2.3B". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  14. ^ Ruggless, Ron (December 7, 2018). "Inspire closes on Sonic acquisition". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  15. ^ Lucas, Amelia (September 25, 2019). "Arby's owner Inspire Brands buys Jimmy John's". CNBC. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  16. ^ Ruggless, Ron (18 October 2019). "Inspire completes purchase of Jimmy John's". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  17. ^ "Art of the deal panel to highlight FFGC". Franchise Times. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  18. ^ Fontanella-Khan, James; Aliaj, Ortenca; Gray, Alistair; Temple, Patrick (October 25, 2020). "Dunkin' closes in on $9bn sale to Inspire Brands". Financial Times. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  19. ^ Haddon, Heather (30 October 2020). "Inspire Brands to Acquire Dunkin' Brands Group for $11.3 Billion Including Debt". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. OCLC 781541372. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  20. ^ "Inspire Brands Completes Acquisition of Dunkin' Brands". www.businesswire.com. December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  21. ^ Maze, Jonathan (December 19, 2022). "Inspire Brands sells Rusty Taco to the owner of Cicis Pizza". Restaurant Business. Retrieved December 26, 2022.

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