The parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins says it plans to go public, confirming weeks of Wall Street speculation.

Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. didn't say how many shares it will offer or when the offering will take place. The regulatory filing proposes an estimated maximum IPO value of $400 million.

But the Massachusetts-based company did say in a regulatory filing that it believes it sees "significant opportunity" to expand in foreign markets and outside the Northeast U.S., where it is concentrated.

It also says it lost $1.7 million in the first quarter of 2011, a big difference from $5.9 million in net income the year before.

The company would trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker "DNKN."