Krispy Kreme said yesterday that it had confidentially filed with U.S. regulators for an initial public offering, a move that would result in the doughnut chain’s return to the stock market five years after it was taken private, Reuters reported. The company first went public in 2000, but it had to file for chapter 11 protection following financial restatements, investigations into its accounting practices and a plunge in sales at some of its franchisees. It was bought by privately owned JAB Holding Co in a $1.35 billion deal in 2016 when the investment firm was ramping up its bets on coffee and restaurant businesses. The doughnut chain’s move would help it tap into a historic boom in U.S. capital markets, with companies raising $167 billion in 2020, according to Dealogic data, a record that investment bankers expect will be surpassed this year.
