For Sale: Coffee and Donut Chain, $2,000,000,000 OBO

Just as Krispy Kreme starts to make an ignominious exit from the Commonwealth due to insufficient profits, mighty Dunkin' Donuts is at the height of its profitability and power, which is apparently the best time for its French owners, Pernod Ricard S.A., to sell it, along with its corporate siblings Baskin Robbins and Togo's (pronounced like the country, not like "to go"), a sandwich chain with two Mass. locations and many more on the west coast. (By the way, if, like Bostonist, you enjoy reading awkward English translations, the Pernod Ricard website is worth a look. In addition to being the "second operator worldwide in spirits and wine," the company describes itself in a way Bostonist hopes someday to be known: "A 'Pure Player' in Spirits and Wine with unlimited horizons.") Bids were due on Friday and were expected to be over $2 billion (which could only be made available in cash or stock, a fact Bostonist learned when our offer, which included a '98 Corolla and three minor-league infielders, was rejected). For those folks who like to patronize businesses that are not just locally based (as DD is, operating out of Canton), but locally owned, the sale provides some hope: Reports suggest that among the bidders are two different consortia of fabulously wealthy companies from our region: One group includes Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners, both of Boston, and another includes Providence Equity Partners (of Providence, of course). No word yet on whether local ownership will encourage the highly profitable chain to stop letting Commonwealth taxpayers cover its healthcare costs, but Bostonist has a guess.