Weekly Global News Wrap: McDonald’s cuts tech fees for U.S. franchisees; Krispy Kreme raises US$500m; Panera Bread sells Au Bon Pain

Here is a summary of the most interesting news stories of the week from around the world.

Ampex Brands, which has more than 400 Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s and 7-Eleven locations in the U.S., announced that it bought the bakery-cafe chain Au Bon Pain. As CNBC reported, Ampex bought the bakery-cafe chain from ABP Corp., a subsidiary of Panera Bread. Read more here.

Krispy Kreme raised US$500 million in its initial public offering after pricing its shares at $17, Restaurant Business reported. The price gives the company a market value of about US$2.8 billion, more than double the company’s value when European investment firm JAB Holdings took the company private back in 2016. Read more here.

McDonald’s is reducing the technology fees it planned to charge its U.S. restaurant owners by about US$42 million, easing reported tension between the parent company and its franchisees for months. According to an internal document viewed by Bloomberg News, the fast-food giant decided to cut the charges by 62% from the original US$68 million communicated to franchisees in December. Read more here.

P.F. Chang's aims to have more than 50 To Go units in its network by 2022, with more than 20 of these additional locations already underway. As Restaurant Dive reported, the expansion of the may complement the work the brand has done to improve its off-premise strategy, which includes a new app and e-commerce website platform and improved packaging. Read more here.

Amidst the U.S. chicken sandwich wars and increased prices, U.S. operators are told to consider offering some different dark meat cuts. Citing NPD data, Business Insider reported that chicken wing consumption is up 17% over last year, and breaded chicken is up 15% over the same period. Read more here.