Krispy Kreme IPO valued at $2.7 billion

The Krispy Kreme chain of coffee shops will hold an IPO for the second time in its history.

According to the company’s official website, the price per share is set at $17, with a total of 29.4 million securities on offer. Trading began July 1 on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker “DNUT.”

The doughnut chain set the offering price well below its stated range. The firm initially planned to sell about 26.7 million shares at $21 to $24 each and raise $640 million. However, Krispy Kreme raised only $500 million in the offering – indicating little investor interest, Reuters said.

The money raised from investors will be used to pay off debt, general corporate needs and buy back shares from some of the company’s executives.

JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities, and Citigroup acted as lead accounting managers for the proposed IPO.

According to the agency, this week will be one of the busiest, with at least 17 IPOs in the U.S. market.

The doughnut chain first IPO’d in 2000, then was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2016. It was bought for $1.35 billion by German conglomerate JAB Holding, which now owns 78 percent of the stock.

In March, Krispy Kreme promised a free donut every day until the end of the year to vaccinated against the coronavirus in the United States. There is no limit on the number of free doughnuts, so those vaccinated can participate in the promotion every day. The offer is valid through the end of 2021.

Photo credit: depositphotos.com.