Arby’s Restaurant Group paid $157 a share in cash for Buffalo Wild Wings in a deal valued at about $2.9 billion, including net debt, according to the November 28, 2017 merger announcement filed with the SEC. That sale took the sports bar chain private.
Today, Buffalo Wild Wings is owned by Inspire Brands, the Atlanta-area restaurant company formed out of that deal. Inspire is controlled by private equity firm Roark Capital Group.
Buffalo Wild Wings is owned by Inspire Brands
Inspire Brands owns 100% of Buffalo Wild Wings. The chain runs as a separate brand inside Inspire, which is based in Sandy Springs, Georgia.
Inspire also owns Arby’s, Dunkin’, Baskin-Robbins, Sonic Drive-In and Jimmy John’s. Across those six chains it reported more than 33,300 restaurants and $33.4 billion in annual sales, as cited by CNBC.
Buffalo Wild Wings
Sports bar brand, founded 1982 in Columbus, Ohio
Inspire Brands
Parent company that owns the brand outright
Roark Capital Group
Private equity firm that controls Inspire
Who owns Inspire Brands
Roark Capital Group, an Atlanta private equity firm founded in 2001, is the majority owner of Inspire Brands. Its path to control began with Arby’s.
Roark acquired 81.5% of Arby’s Restaurant Group in July 2011. Wendy’s kept a minority stake, which fell to 12.3% after the Buffalo Wild Wings purchase. Inspire bought that stake back in August 2018 for $450 million, according to the Arby’s corporate history.
Inspire is not listed on any stock exchange. Paul Brown, who ran Arby’s at the time of the deal, became CEO of the parent company and still leads Inspire in 2026.
How Arby’s ended up buying Buffalo Wild Wings
Buffalo Wild Wings spent 14 years as a public company before the sale. It began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker BWLD on November 21, 2003.
Activist pressure in 2017
The stock had traded above $200 before sales weakened. In 2017, activist investor Marcato Capital Management won three seats on the board, and longtime CEO Sally Smith announced her retirement, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.
The deal terms
The $157 offer marked a premium of about 38% to the stock’s 30-day volume-weighted average price as of November 13, 2017. Marcato, which held about 6.4% of shares, agreed to vote in favor.
Roark affiliates committed all the equity for the purchase, with debt financing covering the rest. The deal closed on February 5, 2018, and Arby’s Restaurant Group was renamed Inspire Brands.
Inspire Brands acquisitions after Buffalo Wild Wings
Buffalo Wild Wings was the first step in a multi-brand buildout. Sonic Drive-In followed later in 2018, and Jimmy John’s joined in 2019.
The largest deal came in 2020. Inspire took Dunkin’ and its sister chain Baskin-Robbins private in an $11 billion deal, according to CNBC.
Inspire has also sold assets. Rusty Taco, which Buffalo Wild Wings bought in 2014, went to Gala Capital Partners in December 2022.
Buffalo Wild Wings locations and the franchise model
Buffalo Wild Wings operates more than 1,300 restaurants in nine global markets, according to Inspire’s franchising site. The chain ranks first among U.S. sports bars by systemwide sales in the Nation’s Restaurant News Top 500.
The system includes both company-owned and franchised restaurants. Franchisees run their units under agreements with Inspire, which holds the brand’s trademarks and sets its operating standards.
The footprint has shifted. Buffalo Wild Wings left Canada in June 2023 after closing its last five Ontario units. In August 2026, a franchisee opened the first co-branded Buffalo Wild Wings Go and Jimmy John’s restaurant in Palmetto, Florida.
Could an Inspire Brands IPO change who owns Buffalo Wild Wings
On May 8, 2026, Inspire Brands confidentially submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the SEC for a proposed IPO. No share count or price range had been disclosed as of November 2026.
Inspire said it would use proceeds to repay debt under its term loan facility. Bloomberg reported the offering could raise about $2 billion, and CNBC reported Roark was seeking a valuation near $20 billion.
An IPO would not change who owns Buffalo Wild Wings directly. Inspire would still own the chain. The change would be one level up, where public shareholders would hold part of Inspire alongside Roark.
FAQ
Who is the parent company of Buffalo Wild Wings?
Inspire Brands is the parent company. It owns 100% of Buffalo Wild Wings, along with Arby’s, Dunkin’, Baskin-Robbins, Sonic and Jimmy John’s.
Is Buffalo Wild Wings owned by Arby’s?
Arby’s Restaurant Group bought Buffalo Wild Wings in 2018 and then renamed itself Inspire Brands. Arby’s and Buffalo Wild Wings are now sister brands under Inspire.
How much did Buffalo Wild Wings sell for?
The deal valued Buffalo Wild Wings at about $2.9 billion, including net debt. Shareholders received $157 per share in cash. The sale closed on February 5, 2018.
Is Buffalo Wild Wings publicly traded?
No. It left Nasdaq when the sale closed in 2018. Parent company Inspire Brands filed confidentially for an IPO in May 2026 but had not priced shares as of November 2026.
Who founded Buffalo Wild Wings?
Jim Disbrow and Scott Lowery founded the chain in Columbus, Ohio, in 1982. It was first called Buffalo Wild Wings & Weck, often shortened to BW3.