Insomnia Cookies Gains Fresh Majority Owners

Krispy Kreme shared July 22 that it has sold a majority ownership stake of Insomnia Cookies to the investment company Verlinvest and private equity firm Mistral Equity Partners. The release says the transaction represents a $350 million total enterprise value, which has doubled since Krispy Kreme’s 2018 acquisition.

Krispy Kreme received $127.4 million for the sale and expects to receive an additional $45 million in the coming weeks following an Insomnia Cookies refinancing of intercompany debt. Krispy Kreme aims to use the proceeds to further strengthen its fresh doughnut business and expand availability, as well as pay down debt. It will remain as an approximately 34% minority shareholder in Insomnia Cookies.

Josh Charlesworth, Krispy Kreme president and CEO, says in a statement, “As we build a bigger and better Krispy Kreme, this transaction allows us to focus on our core strategy of producing, selling, and distributing fresh doughnuts daily while also further strengthening our balance sheet.”

Based in Charlotte, N.C., Krispy Kreme operates in more than 35 countries through its fresh doughnut shops, partnerships with retail outlets, and an ecommerce and delivery business. Insomnia Cookies, headquartered in Philadelphia, has 250-plus locations worldwide. In a separate release, it shared it has plans to open 55 stores in 2024, the most in the company’s history. It also plans to open more than 1,500 bakeries in the U.S. over the next few years, with additional growth coming from new international markets.

Insomnia Cookies isn’t the only concept switching up ownership in the past couple weeks. Last Wednesday, Chuy’s shared it agreed to join Darden Restaurants. Prior to that, Mod Pizza joined Elite Restaurant Group.