Want to own a chunk of Dunkin’ Donuts? Now you can. Shares of the company are now being publicly traded on the stock market.
Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc., the operator of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee shops, has raised more than $400 million in its initial public stock offering today.
The Canton, Mass.-based chain sold 22.3 million shares at $19 each, according to a statement, after offering them for $16 to $18 in the IPO. The shares are now being traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol DNKN. In the early going the stock was trading at around $25 per share.
The donut company attracted investors with its plans to more than double its U.S. donut shop locations in the next two decades. Investors were also impress that Dunkin’s topped McDonald’s in revenue growth in 2010. Revenue was up 7.3 percent last year, compared to 5.8 percent for McDonald’s.
Dunkin’s aggressive growth plan calls for the chain to open as many as 250 new locations per year in the remainder of 2011 and in 2012, aiming to reach a goal of 15,000 units in the coming years. The donut chain has about 9,800 worldwide locations today. Dunkin’ also franchises about 6,500 Baskin-Robbins ice cream shops globally.
