Filed under: Deals, Private equity, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD)
A private equity group unfamiliar to the stock market world claims to have made a bid to acquire struggling donut maker Krispy Kreme (NYSE:KKD). According to The Winston-Salem Journal, MGL Asset Management Group has offered $7.25 a share for the company, a premium of almost $2 a share over its closing price Monday.
The mystery surrounding MGL, its assets, ownership and ambitions have caused some to meet the proposal with skepticism. The company provides almost no information on its web site, and its spokesperson told the Journal that the bid was legit, but declined to elaborate.
The skepticism about this offer seems to stem from the wisdom and timing of such an acquisition. Although KKD just reported its first profitable quarter in over three years, overall, since selling in the $50 range before the carb craze, it has waffled ever since below the $10 mark, bottoming out at $2.50 a share just last November.
At a shareholder meeting recently, the CEO of Krispy Kreme reiterated the company’s plans to build international business and increase the range of snack foods sold in convenience stores. Neither option, in my thought, is likely to have a strong impact on the company’s bottom line in the near future, if at all. One profitable quarter after three and a half years of losses in a company with a exhausted brand doesn’t whet my appetite.
I wonder what drives MGL’s interest? Perhaps they’re looking at the hole picture, with a glazed look in their eyes.
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