Inspire Brands

On November 28, 2017, Arby’s Restaurant Group and Buffalo Wild Wings announced a definitive merger agreement under which Arby’s would acquire Buffalo Wild Wings for $157 per share in cash, a transaction valued at about $2.9 billion including its net debt and a premium of about 38% to the 30-day volume-weighted average price before news reports of a deal. Arby’s was majority owned by affiliates of the Atlanta private equity firm Roark Capital Group, which committed all of the equity for the deal; under the agreement, Arby’s chief executive Paul Brown would become chief executive of the parent company after closing, and Buffalo Wild Wings would continue to operate as an independent brand.⁠[1][1][1][1][1][1]

On February 5, 2018, Arby’s completed its acquisition of Buffalo Wild Wings, and Inspire Brands, founded by Atlanta businessmen Paul Brown and Neal Aronson, was launched, with Paul Brown as co-founder and chief executive officer. At launch Inspire comprised Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings and Rusty Taco, with more than 4,600 restaurants and more than 150,000 team members in 15 countries, and combined 2017 global system sales of more than $7.6 billion. BrownBrown UniversityBrown University is a private nonprofit research university in Providence, Rhode Island, and a member of the Ivy League. Chartered by Rhode Island's colonial legislature in 1764, it is known for its undergraduate Open Curriculum, which has no common required core. Christina H. Paxson, president since July 2012, announced on August 3, 2026, that the 2026–27 academic year would be her last in office. As of October 1, 2026, the search for Brown's 20th president remained underway.Open the full entry said the goal was to build “a different kind of restaurant company” that leverages synergies among brands and is scalable.⁠[2][3][3][4][3][3]

On September 25, 2018, Sonic Corp.Sonic Drive-InSonic Drive-In (styled SONIC) is an American drive-in fast-food chain known for ordering from parking stalls and carhops who deliver food to customers’ cars. It grew out of a 1953 root beer stand in Oklahoma; its parent company, Sonic Corp., went public on Nasdaq in 1991 and was acquired by Inspire Brands for about $2.3 billion in 2018.Open the full entry and Inspire Brands announced a definitive merger agreement under which Inspire would acquire Sonic for $43.50 per share in cash, a transaction valued at about $2.3 billion including assumed net debt and a premium of about 19% to Sonic’s closing price the previous day. Sonic was the largest drive-in restaurant chain in the United States, with more than 3,600 drive-ins, 95% of them owned by local franchisees; Inspire then had more than 4,700 restaurants, was headquartered in Atlanta and was majority owned by affiliates of Roark. Sonic chief executive Cliff Hudson said the board, taking shareholders’ views into account, had conducted a comprehensive review of strategic options.⁠[5][5][5][5][5][5]

On December 7, 2018, an Inspire subsidiary merged into Sonic Corp., which became a wholly owned subsidiary of Inspire. After the acquisition, Inspire had more than 8,300 restaurants and annual system sales of more than $12 billion, becoming by its own measure the fifth-largest restaurant company in the United States.⁠[6][6][7]

In October 2019, Inspire acquired Jimmy John’s, a sandwich chain known for delivery. After the acquisition Inspire had more than 11,200 restaurants in 16 countries and annual system sales of more than $14 billion, becoming by its own measure the fourth-largest restaurant company in the United States; its support centers in Atlanta, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City and Champaign, Illinois, held celebrations to mark the deal.⁠[4][8][8]

On October 30, 2020, Inspire and Dunkin’ Brands, the parent of Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins, announced a definitive merger agreement under which Inspire would acquire Dunkin’ Brands for $106.50 per share in cash, a transaction valued at about $11.3 billion including assumed debt, a premium of about 30% to the 30-day volume-weighted average price and about 20% to the October 23 closing price; the deal was structured as a tender offer followed by a second-step merger. There were then more than 12,500 Dunkin’ and almost 8,000 Baskin-Robbins restaurants worldwide, and the combined portfolio was expected to have $26 billion in system sales and more than 31,600 restaurants in more than 60 countries. BarclaysBarclaysBarclays is a banking and financial services group headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with Barclays PLC as its parent company. It traces its origins to a London goldsmith bank established in 1690 and developed through bank mergers, overseas expansion and investment banking reorganisations. Its businesses span UK retail and corporate banking, private banking and wealth management, global investment banking and US consumer banking.Open the full entry served as Inspire’s financial adviser.⁠[9][9][9][9][9][9]

The tender offer began on November 16, 2020, and on December 15 the Inspire subsidiary paid for the tendered shares and completed the merger without a stockholder vote. After the acquisition, Inspire had nearly 32,000 restaurants in more than 60 countries and $26 billion in annual system sales, becoming the second-largest restaurant company in the U.S. by both system sales and locations. Former Dunkin’ Brands chief executive Dave Hoffmann became a senior adviser to Paul Brown, and Scott Murphy became president of Dunkin’.⁠[10][10][10][11][11][11]

On the third anniversary of its founding on February 5, 2021, Paul Brown said Inspire was the second-largest restaurant company in America and the fifth-largest in the world. In May of that year Inspire opened a roughly 15,000-square-foot innovation center in Sandy Springs, Georgia, for testing new equipment, kitchen modules and robotics; by the end of 2021 it had more than 31,700 restaurants worldwide and global system sales above $30 billion for the first time.⁠[12][4][4]

In April 2023, Inspire created the Inspire Company Restaurants team to strengthen its company-operated restaurant structure, and in June of that year it set up an innovation center in Hyderabad, India, providing support in data engineering, data science and analytics, and AI.⁠[4][4]

In March 2024, with the opening of a Dunkin’ in Lelystad, Netherlands, international locations officially made up more than 30% of the Inspire portfolio, reaching 10,000 restaurants abroad.⁠[4][4]

In October 2025, Dunkin’ opened its 10,000th U.S. location in Darien, Illinois, becoming the fourth quick-service brand to reach 10,000 locations in the United States. That year Dunkin’ also opened its first locations in France and ended the year in 40 global markets; Jimmy John’s, which announced its international debut in 2024, was open in four international markets including Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and Baskin-Robbins celebrated its 80th birthday.⁠[13][4][13][13][13]

On December 10, 2025, Inspire announced a series of leadership appointments: John Dawson joined as president of U.S. development; Tristan Meline was promoted from chief marketing officer to brand president of Buffalo Wild Wings Sports Bars, succeeding the retiring John Bowie; Leandro Gasparin became president of the newly created Buffalo Wild Wings GO role; John Kelly became brand president of SONIC; and Jon Gill became president of Inspire Company Restaurants. Senior leaders who had recently joined included Scott Catlett, who had spent nearly 20 years at Yum! BrandsYum! BrandsYum! Brands is a restaurant franchising group headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker YUM). Its brands are KFC, Taco Bell, and Habit Burger & Grill, and as of September 2026 it operated or franchised more than 44,000 restaurants in 151 countries and territories; it and Yum China Holdings, which runs these brands in mainland China, are two separate publicly traded companies.Open the full entry, as chief legal and administrative officer. Co-founder and chief executive Paul Brown said the appointments strengthened the foundation for continued growth.⁠[14][14][14][14][14][14][14][14][14]

On May 8, 2026, Inspire Brands announced that it had confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its common stock; the number of shares and the price range had not been determined, the net proceeds were expected to be used to repay borrowings under its existing term loan facility and pay offering expenses, and the offering would follow completion of the SEC’s review, subject to market and other conditions.⁠[15][15][15][15]

On August 10, 2026, Inspire Brands was named the 2026 Global Restaurant Leader of the Year by Informa Connect Foodservice, with the award to be presented during the Global Restaurant Leadership Conference in Cannes, France, in November of that year.⁠[16][16]

According to Inspire’s fiscal 2025 figures, the group had $33.4 billion in global system sales, more than 33,000 restaurants, more than 3 billion transactions, more than $11 billion in U.S. digital sales and about 650,000 company and franchise team members, operating in 55 global markets with more than 2,500 franchisees.⁠[17][17][4]

Fiscal 2025 figures by brand: Dunkin’, more than 14,200 restaurants in 39 markets with $14.5 billion in system sales; Baskin-Robbins, more than 7,800 restaurants in 37 markets with $2.3 billion; Arby’s, more than 3,500 restaurants in 7 markets with $4.4 billion; SONIC, more than 3,400 restaurants in 47 U.S. states with $5.2 billion; Jimmy John’s, more than 2,800 restaurants in 6 markets with $2.7 billion; and Buffalo Wild Wings, more than 1,400 restaurants in 9 markets with $4.2 billion.⁠[17][17][17][17][17][17]

Inspire’s model is to integrate distinct brands on shared, technology-enabled platforms and capabilities, with each brand keeping its own identity while benefiting from the group’s scale; its purpose is “To Ignite and Nourish Flavorful Experiences,” and its five core behaviors are Mavericks, Allies, Visionaries, Achievers and Good Citizens.⁠[4][4][12]

Inspire Brands: Official website: https://www.inspirebrands.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[18]

X: Public account: https://x.com/InspireBrands (opens in a new window)⁠[18]

LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Public profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/27156989/ (opens in a new window)⁠[18]