Krispy Kreme Sells Majority Ownership Stake of Insomnia Cookies

By Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
Krispy Kreme has announced the sale of a majority ownership stake of Insomnia Cookies to Verlinvest and Mistral Equity Partners.
Founded by Seth Berkowitz in 2003, Insomnia Cookies is a late-night bakery brand that offers a range of cookies, ice cream and other sweet treats for in-store purchase, local delivery and nationwide shipping. Berkowitz will continue in his role as CEO of the company following the sale.
“Building off of a very successful five-year partnership with Krispy Kreme, we’re thrilled to welcome Verlinvest and Mistral to this new chapter of our journey,” said Berkowitz.
The shareholder transaction has been valued at 350 million dollars in total, which represents double the amount that the Insomnia Cookie shares were valued at prior to Krispy Kreme’s initial majority acquisition of the brand in 2018.
“We are enthusiastic about our investment in Insomnia Cookies, an incredible brand so close to our core DNA and at a pivotal point in its growth trajectory,” said Verlinvest MD, Clément Pointillart. “We’re eager to support Seth and help unlock the full potential of the business both in the US and internationally.”
Established in 1995, Verlinvest is an international investment company focuses its investment portfolio on companies and brands related to health, consumer technology, lifestyle and fast-moving consumer goods.
Mistral Equity Partners is a private equity firm that specializes in providing strategic investments to North American companies in the consumer products and media sectors.
“We are excited to partner with the company through the next phase of its growth,” said Mistral CEO, Andrew Heyer. “Having known Seth since 2004, we are delighted to have the opportunity to work with him again as well as the best-in-class teams at Krispy Kreme and Verlinvest.”
The Mistral  firm has previously invested capital through Haymaker Acquisition Corp and other special purpose acquisition companies that are managed by Mistral executives, Andrew Heyer and Christopher Bradley.
The Insomnia Cookies transaction agreement officially closed on July 17, 2024. Krispy Kreme received 127.4 million for the sale and expects to receive an additional 45 million in the coming weeks following a refinancing of the Insomnia Cookies inter-company debt.
Krispy Kreme intends to use the proceeds from the sale to strengthen its doughnut business, expand its distribution initiatives and reduce its company debt.
“As we build a bigger and better Krispy Kreme, this transaction allows us to focus on our core strategy of producing, selling, and distributing fresh doughnuts daily while also further strengthening our balance sheet,” said Krispy Kreme president, Josh Charlesworth. “Following a thorough review, we are confident that Verlinvest and Mistral are the right partners to share in the success of Insomnia Cookies given their food industry experience and long-standing track record of value creation.”
Krispy Kreme will remain as a minority shareholder in Insomnia Cookies with approximately 34% of its total shares. Evercore and Morgan Stanley & Co. acted as the financial advisors for the transaction agreement.