Dunkin Donuts Inc

Bain Capital and two investment firms agreed Monday to buy Pernod Ricard's restaurant business in the U.S. for $2.43 billion, taking control of Dunkin' Donuts, the largest doughnut chain in the country. Bain is teaming up with Carlyle Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners to buy Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin' Brands Inc., the companies said. Pernod had expected about $2 billion for the unit, which also runs the Baskin-Robbins and Togo's chains.

Three private-equity investment firms have jointly bid to buy the parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and two other restaurant chains that are being sold by France's Pernod Ricard, two sources involved in the process said Friday. The equal partners in the bid are Boston-based Bain Capital, the Carlyle Group of Washington and Boston's Thomas H.

With the addition of more espresso drinks to its menu, Dunkin' Donuts might look like it's trying to be another Starbucks Corp. Well, it's true that Dunkin' Donuts is experimenting with WiFi access in a few Chicago shops and considering music in more of its stores -- two features of Starbucks outlets.

Dunkin' Donuts said it would open 10 shops at Wal-Mart stores, helping the world's largest retailer broaden its branded fast-food offerings. Dunkin' Donuts, run by Britain-based spirits company Allied Domecq, plans to open its first store at a Wal-Mart today in North Wyndham, Conn. The others, set to open within three months, will be located in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Vermont.

A Canadian partnership removed some conditions Tuesday on its $296-million hostile bid for Dunkin' Donuts and said it would raise the offer to $308 million if it wins a lawsuit challenging the doughnut shop chain's anti-takeover measures. DD Acquisition Corp., a partnership of Kingsbridge Capital Group and Cara Operations Ltd.

When the urge for a doughnut would strike, Ed Garza used to drive off to the nearest Winchell's Donut House. Now, with doughnuts being sold in nearly every mini-mall and corner convenience store, Garza, a Pasadena medical products salesman, says he can be more choosy. His current favorite: Big Mama's, a shop in Highland Park where the doughnuts are "bigger and better" than Winchell's, he says. "I go to Winchell's less because of all the other doughnut places," Garza said. Winchell's Donut Houses have been shaken by the loss of customers such as Garza, who have taken their appetites for jelly doughnuts and bear claws elsewhere.

With the addition of more espresso drinks to its menu, Dunkin' Donuts might look like it's trying to be another Starbucks Corp. Well, it's true that Dunkin' Donuts is experimenting with WiFi access in a few Chicago shops and considering music in more of its stores -- two features of Starbucks outlets.

Dunkin' Donuts said it would open 10 shops at Wal-Mart stores, helping the world's largest retailer broaden its branded fast-food offerings. Dunkin' Donuts, run by Britain-based spirits company Allied Domecq, plans to open its first store at a Wal-Mart today in North Wyndham, Conn. The others, set to open within three months, will be located in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Vermont.

Dunkin' Donuts is trying to end its affiliation with a midtown Manhattan franchise where mice were photographed nibbling on doughnuts. The Randolph, Mass.-based company, which has more than 4,400 shops worldwide, said in a lawsuit filed Monday that the store breached its contract when it permitted mice inside. Last week, the New York Post published a photograph of a mouse resting on a glazed doughnut while munching a coconut-covered one.

Dunkin' Donuts is trying to end its affiliation with a midtown Manhattan franchise where mice were photographed nibbling on doughnuts. The Randolph, Mass.-based company, which has more than 4,400 shops worldwide, said in a lawsuit filed Monday that the store breached its contract when it permitted mice inside. Last week, the New York Post published a photograph of a mouse resting on a glazed doughnut while munching a coconut-covered one.

Bain Capital and two investment firms agreed Monday to buy Pernod Ricard's restaurant business in the U.S. for $2.43 billion, taking control of Dunkin' Donuts, the largest doughnut chain in the country. Bain is teaming up with Carlyle Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners to buy Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin' Brands Inc., the companies said. Pernod had expected about $2 billion for the unit, which also runs the Baskin-Robbins and Togo's chains.

A Canadian partnership removed some conditions Tuesday on its $296-million hostile bid for Dunkin' Donuts and said it would raise the offer to $308 million if it wins a lawsuit challenging the doughnut shop chain's anti-takeover measures. DD Acquisition Corp., a partnership of Kingsbridge Capital Group and Cara Operations Ltd.