Shipley Do-Nuts, which had been owned by the same family for 85 years before its sale in 2021, is being sold again.
The Austin, Texas-based donut and kolache brand is being sold to the private-equity firm Levine Leichtman Capital Partners. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Shipley operates 375 locations in more than 14 states. The company had been owned by the founding family until 2021, when it was sold to the private-equity firm Peak Rock Capital.
Since then, the company said that it has generated 18 straight quarters of same-store sales growth, expanded into new markets, developed new products and launched a marketing cooperative with its franchisees.
“Their approach has been key to unlocking Shipley’s impressive growth,” CEO Flynn Dekker said of Peak Rock, in a statement.
Shipley generated $320 million in system sales last year, up 8.1% from 2023. Unit count grew nearly 5%. All but 12 of the company’s locations is franchisee-owned.
The company was founded in 1936 and is one of the nation’s largest donut brands.
Franchised brands have been popular targets for investors that prefer their lack of capital spending and cash flow that is less susceptible to recessionary downturns like those of company-run operations. Several such brands have been sold over the past couple of years, many of them for high valuations, such as Tropical Smoothie, Dave's Hot Chicken and Jersey Mike's.
Levine Leichtman has acquired a number of such brands in the restaurant business over the years. Some of its past investments have included brands like Mountain Mike’s Pizza and the treat chain Nothing Bundt Cakes.
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