Current:Home > MarketsSandwich chain Subway will be sold to fast-food investor Roark Capital-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Sandwich chain Subway will be sold to fast-food investor Roark Capital
View Date:2024-12-24 07:56:03
Subway said Thursday it will be sold to Roark Capital, a private equity firm with expertise in restaurant management that could help the sandwich chain expand and improve its stores.
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Atlanta-based Roark was offering around $9.6 billion for Subway, which is privately owned.
Subway CEO John Chidsey, who joined the company in 2019, said the deal reflects Subway's long-term growth potential and the value of the brand. Subway plans to continue to modernize restaurants and expand internationally under Roark's ownership. Subway said its leadership team will remain in place.
Roark is a private equity firm with $37 billion in assets under management. It specializes in franchised businesses and backs two holding companies that own multiple restaurant chains: Inspire Brands, the parent of Arby's, Dunkin', Jimmy John's and Buffalo Wild Wings; and Focus Brands, which owns Auntie Anne's, Carvel, Cinnabon and Jamba.
Subway, which has dual headquarters in Miami and Connecticut, was founded in 1965 and is still owned by its founding families. It's now one of the world's largest restaurant chains, with 37,000 outlets in more than 100 countries.
But in the U.S., it has been losing market share in recent years to fast-growing rivals like Panera and Firehouse Subs, which feature more varied menus and newer stores. Subway currently controls about 23% of the $43 billion U.S. sandwich and deli market, according to Technomic, a consulting company. That's down from 34% in 2017.
Subway has been trying to catch up; in 2021 it refreshed its menu and last year it announced a line of chef-developed sandwiches after finding that customers were tiring of Subway's traditional model of letting customers build their own sandwiches.
But in February, Subway announced it was exploring a sale.
Subway has some momentum going into the acquisition. In July, the company said its global same-store sales __ or sales at locations open at least a year __ were up 9.8% from the prior year. The company has remodeled 10,000 of its U.S. restaurants and recently spent $80 million to provide its 20,000 U.S. restaurants with deli meat slicers, a first for the brand.
veryGood! (198)
Related
- 'Gladiator 2' review: Yes, we are entertained again by outrageous sequel
- Delta cancels hundreds more flights as fallout from CrowdStrike outage persists
- 2024 NFL record projections: Chiefs rule regular season, but is three-peat ahead?
- Where Ben Affleck Was While Jennifer Lopez Celebrated Her Birthday in the Hamptons
- Reds honor Pete Rose with a 14-hour visitation at Great American Ball Park
- Mark Carnevale, PGA Tour winner and broadcaster, dies at 64
- Beyoncé's mom, Tina Knowles, endorses VP Kamala Harris for president
- Stock market today: Asian shares are mixed after Wall Street breaks losing streak
- Research reveals China has built prototype nuclear reactor to power aircraft carrier
- Hiker missing for 2 weeks found alive in Kentucky's Red River Gorge after rescuers hear cry for help: Truly a miracle
Ranking
- World leaders aim to shape Earth's future at COP29 climate change summit
- Why Hailey Bieber Chose to Keep Her Pregnancy Private for First 6 Months
- Missouri judge overturns the murder conviction of a man imprisoned for more than 30 years
- Gigi Hadid Gives Her Honest Review of Blake Lively’s Movie It Ends With Us
- Taylor Swift drops Christmas merchandise collection, including for 'Tortured Poets' era
- Kandi Burruss’ Must-Haves for Busy People Include These Hand Soap Sheets You Won’t Leave Home Without
- Ariana Madix Reveals Every Cosmetic Procedure She's Done to Her Face
- Tobey Maguire's Ex Jennifer Meyer Shares How Gwyneth Paltrow Helped With Her Breakup
Recommendation
-
A growing and aging population is forcing Texas counties to seek state EMS funding
-
Paris Olympics: LeBron James to Serve as Flagbearer for Team USA at Opening Ceremony
-
Emma Hayes realistic about USWNT work needed to get back on top of world. What she said
-
Olympic swimmers will be diving into the (dirty) Seine. Would you do it?
-
Today’s Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker and More React to Craig Melvin Replacing Hoda Kotb as Co-Anchor
-
A look at Kamala Harris' work on foreign policy as vice president
-
2 killed when small plane crashes after takeoff from Long Island airport
-
Data shows hurricanes and earthquakes grab headlines but inland counties top disaster list