Krispy Kreme Is Guide IPO Pricing Below Marketed Range

(Bloomberg) -- Krispy Kreme Inc. is guiding investors that the company could price its U.S. initial public offering below a marketed range, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The company had planned to raise as much as $640 million selling almost 27 million shares at $21 to $24 apiece, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. At the top end of that range, the company would have a market value of $3.86 billion, based on the outstanding shares listed in the prospectus.

The doughnut chain is planning to price its IPO shares Wednesday, with trading set to begin Thursday.

A representative for Krispy Kreme declined to comment.

The debut comes during one of the busiest weeks on record for U.S. IPOs, with $13.6 billion of shares either already trading, or expected to begin trading, including listings by special purpose acquisition companies. Shares of Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Global Inc. rose as much as 29% in its Wednesday debut after raising $4.4 billion in an upsized transaction.

Owned by food- and consumer-goods focused investment firm JAB Holdings BV, Krispy Kreme plans to use proceeds from the IPO to pay down debt and buy back shares from certain executives, as well as for general corporate purposes, according to the listing documents. JAB will continue to own almost 78% of the company's shares after the IPO.

The offering is being led by JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. Krispy Kreme plans to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol DNUT.