Dunkin' Donuts: Sorry, no sale

— -- Q: Dunkin' Donuts seems to be making a serious comeback. Is there a way to invest in the company?

Dunkin' Donuts has been one of the heirs to the donut prize. After treading water for years under the umbrella of European food giant Allied Domecq, the company is striking out on its own. It was bought by a consortium of private-equity companies, including Bain Capital, Beekman Group, Carlyle Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners.

Dunkin' Donuts is one of the four companies owned by Dunkin' Brands, formerly known as Allied Domecq Quick Service Restaurants. It also owns Dunkin' Espanola, Baskin-Robbins and Togo's Eateries, says Standard & Poor's Capital IQ.

Currently, there's no way for individual investors to buy into Dunkin' Brands. It's privately held. But you can be sure that before too long the private-equity firms that bought the company will want to cash out by selling their stakes in an initial public offering.

I don't have any information that an IPO of Dunkin' Brands is in the works. If it ever comes to that, remember that IPOs can be highly risky, so you want to be sure you thoroughly understand what you're buying before plunking your money down.

Matt Krantz is a financial markets reporter at USA TODAY. He answers a different reader question every weekday in his Ask Matt column at money.usatoday.com. To submit a question, e-mail Matt at mkrantz@usatoday.com.