Inspire Brands

Last updated

Inspire Brands LLC
Company type Private
IndustryRestaurants
FoundedFebruary 5, 2018;8 years ago (2018-02-05)
Founders Neal Aronson and Paul J. Brown
Headquarters
Sandy Springs, Georgia
,
United States
Number of locations
33,000+ (2024)
Key people
  • Paul J. Brown
  • Kate Jaspon
  • Scott Murphy
  • Dan Lynn
  • Christian Charnaux
  • Nils.H Okeson
  • Yasir Anwar
  • John Kelly
RevenueUS$32.6 billion (2024)
Owner Roark Capital Group
Number of employees
650,000+ (2024)
Subsidiaries
Website inspirebrands.com

Inspire Brands LLC is an American fast-food restaurant franchise company. Backed by Roark Capital Group, it owns the Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic Drive-In, Jimmy John's, Dunkin' Donuts, and Baskin-Robbins chains, which have a combined 33,000 locations and US$32.6 billion in system sales. It is one of the largest fast food corporations in the world. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

History

Inspire Brands was formed when Arby's Restaurant Group merged with Buffalo Wild Wings on February 5, 2018. Buffalo Wild Wings also owned the Rusty Taco chain. [5] [6] Arby's CEO Paul Brown was selected to continue as Inspire Brands CEO. [5] Brown expected that Inspire would acquire additional chains in different segments. He planned to structure the company similar to Hilton Hotels & Resorts. [7] Co-owner The Wendy's Company's stake was reduced from 18.5% to 12.3% due to the infusion of capital from Roark Capital to fund the purchase. [8] In September 2018, Inspire had the 27-location R Taco reverted to the Rusty Taco name. [9]

On August 16, 2018, The Wendy's Company announced that it sold its 12.3% stake in Inspire Brands back to the company for $450 million, which included a 38% premium over the stake's most recent valuation. [2] On August 28, 2018, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal announced that Inspire was moving its headquarters to Sandy Springs, Georgia in 2019. [10]

Inspire Brands on September 25, 2018, announced that it was buying Oklahoma City-based Sonic Drive-In for $2.3 billion. [11] The acquisition was completed on December 7, 2018. [12]

Inspire Brands announced that it was buying Jimmy John's on September 25, 2019. [3] [13] The deal closed on October 18, 2019. [14]

Inspire received Franchise Times ’ 2019 Dealmaker of the Year award for its acquisitions of Buffalo Wild Wings and Sonic Drive-In. [15]

Inspire Brands on October 25, 2020, announced that it was buying Dunkin' Brands for $11.3 billion. [16] [17] The acquisition was completed on December 15, 2020. [18]

In March 2021, Inspire Brands sent a review of its government lobbying activities to their franchisees and employees where they highlighted their success in keeping the $15 minimum wage out of Democrats' American Rescue Plan, the COVID-19 relief bill President Joe Biden signed earlier that month. [19]

In August 2021, Inspire Brands announced that it would source only cage-free eggs by 2025. [20]

On December 19, 2022, Inspire Brands announced that it had sold Rusty Taco to Gala Capital Partners, owner of Cicis Pizza, Dunn Brothers Coffee, and Mooyah. [21]

Brands

As of June 2025, the chains that the company owns and/or operates include:


References

  1. ↑ "Inspire Brands and the Making of a Restaurant Group Unlike Any Other". QSR. August 1, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Wendy's sells stake in Arby's owner for $450 million". CNBC. August 16, 2018. Archived from the original on October 6, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Dyer, Kristian (September 25, 2019). "Arby's owner beefs up portfolio, eating up another fast-food franchise". Fox Business. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  4. ↑ "About Us". Inspire Brands. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Thorn, Bret (February 5, 2018). "Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings new parent Inspire Brands debuts". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Arby's closes deal for Buffalo Wild Wings, makes new company". Star Tribune. Associated Press. February 5, 2018. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  7. ↑ Klein, Danny (February 5, 2018). "Arby's CEO: We're Not Done Buying Brands After BWW". QSR magazine. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  8. ↑ Klein, Danny (August 2018). "Wendy's Sells Inspire Brands Stake for $450 Million". QSR Magazine.
  9. ↑ Romeo, Peter (September 5, 2018). "Inspire Brands reveals plans for its 3rd brand, now Rusty Taco". Restaurant Business. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  10. ↑ Neighbor Newspapers Staff (August 28, 2018). "Inspire Brands bringing 1,100 jobs, $32 million to Sandy Springs". Northside Neighbor. Marietta Daily Journal. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  11. ↑ Thorn, Bret (September 25, 2018). "Inspire Brands to buy Sonic Corp. for $2.3B". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  12. ↑ Ruggless, Ron (December 7, 2018). "Inspire closes on Sonic acquisition". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  13. ↑ Lucas, Amelia (September 25, 2019). "Arby's owner Inspire Brands buys Jimmy John's". CNBC. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  14. ↑ Ruggless, Ron (18 October 2019). "Inspire completes purchase of Jimmy John's". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  15. ↑ "Art of the deal panel to highlight FFGC". Franchise Times. April 24, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  16. ↑ Fontanella-Khan, James; Aliaj, Ortenca; Gray, Alistair; Temple, Patrick (October 25, 2020). "Dunkin' closes in on $9bn sale to Inspire Brands" . Financial Times . Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  17. ↑ Haddon, Heather (30 October 2020). "Inspire Brands to Acquire Dunkin' Brands Group for $11.3 Billion Including Debt". Wall Street Journal . ISSN   0099-9660. OCLC   781541372. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  18. ↑ "Inspire Brands Completes Acquisition of Dunkin' Brands". www.businesswire.com. December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  19. ↑ "This Fast Food Giant Bragged About Killing $15 Minimum Wage". Newsweek. March 27, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Dunkin' Donuts and Arby's commits to sourcing only cage-free eggs". New Food Magazine. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  21. ↑ Maze, Jonathan (December 19, 2022). "Inspire Brands sells Rusty Taco to the owner of Cicis Pizza". Restaurant Business. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
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