Panera Dough IPO valuation: $7.5 billion
After months of mixed signals and the layoff of 17% of Panera Bread’s workforce, its parent company, fast casual restaurant platform Panera Brands, has discreetly filed papers for its own IPO.
In May, the firm announced that its new CEO, José Alberto Dueñas from Einstein Bros. Bagels, would use the C-suite launch as “preparation for its eventual IPO.” With the addition of new chief financial officer and IPO specialist Paul Carbone, it appears that Panera’s day has arrived. JAB Holding Co., the former owner of Au Bon Pain and current owner of Krispy Kreme Inc. (DNUT), purchased Panera for $7.5 billion and has held it as a private company since 2017.
Panera’s IPO is fascinating because it represents a big change from JAB Holding to a prospective public company. “The back story involving a lapsed agreement with Danny Meyer’s SPAC, coupled with JAB’s consolidation of brands like Caribou Coffee Co. and Einstein Bros. Bagels under Panera, and the hiring of a CFO experienced in public transitions, all underscore the strategic nature of this IPO,” said Farbman.