Buyout Companies Make Offers for Dunkin’ Brands

Carlyle Group and JPMorgan Partners submitted bids Thursday for Pernod Ricard’s Dunkin’ Brands Inc. restaurants, people with direct knowledge of the sale said.

Carlyle, manager of the largest U.S. buyout fund, teamed up with Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners; JPMorgan Partners, the buyout unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co., bid for Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin’ Brands with Providence Equity Partners Inc., said the people, who declined to be identified before any offers were made public.

Pernod, the world’s second-largest liquor company, expects to raise about $2 billion from the sale. The Paris-based company acquired the unit, which includes Dunkin’ Donuts, Baskin Robbins and Togo’s restaurants, in its $13-billion takeover of Allied Domecq in July. Pernod wants to sell the unit to reduce debt and focus on liquor.

“Dunkin’ is perceived by these bidders as having a lot of room to grow,” said Ron Paul, president of Technomic Inc., a Chicago-based food consulting company. Buyout firms are “willing to pay more because they see growth potential.”

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Trimaran Capital Partners also may submit a bid for Dunkin’ Brands.

Reached before the bids were submitted, Jayne Fitzpatrick, chief strategy officer of Dunkin’ Brands, said New York-based JPMorgan was hired to manage the auction. She declined to comment further.

Bids for Dunkin’ Brands were due Thursday. Pernod has said it expects to complete a deal by January.

Dunkin’ Donuts is the largest U.S. doughnut chain, with about 4,400 distribution points in North America, while Baskin-Robbins operates a chain of 5,400 ice cream outlets in 35 countries and Togo’s sells sandwiches in 400 shops in the U.S., according to the company’s website.

“It’s really looked upon as one of the last growth franchises available,” said Tom Burnett, president of Merger Insight, a unit of New York brokerage Wall Street Access. “Clearly there is room for expansion if you get a well-capitalized group in there.”