PRIVATE EQUITY OWNED
Baskin-Robbins
Includes Baskin Robbins, BR
ice cream · Canton, MA
- PE Firm
- Roark Capital →
- Acquirer
- Inspire Brands (Roark Capital)
- Year Acquired
- 2020
31 flavors of private equity. None of them taste like independence.
What They Did
- Acquired as part of the $11.3 billion Inspire Brands/Dunkin' deal in 2020, absorbing the ice cream chain into Roark's portfolio
- Part of the same corporate family as Arby's, Dunkin', Sonic, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Jimmy John's
- Net store closures have outpaced openings in recent years as Inspire consolidates the portfolio
- Founded in 1945 by two brothers-in-law; now a line item in a PE conglomerate's spreadsheet
- Inspire Brands confidentially filed for an IPO in May 2026, with Roark reportedly targeting a valuation near $20 billion. The offering has not priced, so Baskin-Robbins is still PE-owned for now.
Since the Acquisition
- Franchised U.S. store count keeps shrinking — 1,042 restaurants at the start of 2022 fell to 976 by the end of 2024, with closures outpacing openings every single year
- Remaining franchise locations answer to a parent company focused on Dunkin' and Arby's, where ice cream is an afterthought in Inspire Brands' portfolio
Sources
- Baskin-Robbins Franchise Review 2025 — Franchise Chatter(2025-08-12)
- Inspire Brands completes $11.3B Dunkin' acquisition — Restaurant Business(2020-12-15)
- Inspire Brands completes Dunkin' acquisition — Inspire Brands(2020-12-15)
- Inspire Brands Files Confidentially for IPO — FranchiseWire(2026-05-08)
- Dunkin' owner Inspire Brands confidentially files for IPO — CNBC(2026-05-08)