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By Ishika Dangayach, 3:30 PM ET
Krispy Kreme Inc is aiming for a valuation of roughly $4 billion in a U.S. initial public offering (IPO), according to a regulatory filing on Tuesday.
The business plans to sell about 26.7 million shares at a price range of $21 to $24 per share. It would raise around $640 million at the high end of the pricing range.
Krispy Kreme's plans to list come at a time when the U.S. IPO market is seeing historic levels of activity, with firms raising about $171 billion, according to Dealogic data, breaking last year's record of $168 billion, Reuters reported.
The stock would be listed on the Nasdaq under the planned ticker symbol DNUT.
The IPO would provide access to about 16.6 % of Krispy Kreme's total common shares. JAB intends to keep 38.6 % of the stock and distribute the rest to minority investors. The company also intends to purchase between $50 million and $100 million in shares from the offering. Olivier Goudet, the company's chairman, is interested in buying $5 million in stock.
Krispy Kreme originally opened its doors in North Carolina in 1937, selling doughnuts at local grocery shops.
During the dotcom bubble, the doughnut chain went public for the first time 21 years ago but its unit had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2005. Krispy Kreme was taken private in 2016 by JAB Holding, the Reimann family's investment arm, it was purchased for $1.35 billion.
According to the filing, the net profits would be used to settle debts, repurchase stock from some of the company's leaders, and pay tax withholdings on some restricted stock units. The remainder of the cash will be put to general company usage.
In fiscal 2020, it sold 1.3 billion donuts across 30 countries, marking the greatest level of sales in the brand's history, with net revenues of $1.1 billion.