Is it a case of life imitating a silly spy movie parody? The Carlyle Group [1], in a joint venture with Bain Capital Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners, is acquiring Dunkin’ Donuts [2] from the French company Pernod Ricard for $2.4 billion dollars.

Remember how Starbucks was Dr. Evil’s shadow corporation in “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me? [3]” The Carlyle Group is a consortium of former world leaders and inside-the-beltway billionaires [4]. I didn’t know dealing in donuts was such a good deal. Do I detect a whiff of world domination here?

Dunkin’ Donuts currently has 6,500 branches, mostly in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Carlyle and its cohorts plan to expand Dunkin’s presence across the country and market it as a cheaper alternative to Starbucks. If all those latte drinking liberals want to pay extra for coffee cups with controversial slogans [5], let ‘em. Dunkin’ Donuts will be laughing all the way to the World Bank [6].

Anthony DiNovi, co-president of Thomas H. Lee Partners, told the New York Times "Dunkin’ is so much more than a doughnut company." Apparently, it’s also a slayer of small businesses; DiNovi noted that both Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks "are continuing to take share from mom-and-pop coffee shops."

I’ll be the first to admit that Dunkin’ Donuts does brew a consistently good cup of coffee. But will it leave a bitter aftertaste to know you’re supporting a company that’s wallowing in warbucks [7]? I don’t know about you, but I hate the smell of corporatocracy [8] in the morning.