Fast-food empire: Subway is being sold for $9 billion to the owner of Dunkin’, Arby’s, and Jimmy John’s

The Subway sandwich chain has announced that it will sell itself to Roark Capital Group in a deal estimated to be worth at least $9 billion. Roark Capital may not be a household name, but you’ll recognize the names of plenty of other fast-food and restaurant chains it owns, including Arby’s, Auntie Anne’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Cinnabon, Dunkin’, Jamba, Jimmy John’s, and Sonic.

It’s been no secret that Subway was looking for a buyer. As CNBC notes, the sandwich chain officially kicked off its search in February and initially sought $10 billion. While Subway and Roark have not publicly announced the exact sum yet, Bloomberg reported earlier that the deal was valued at “more than $9 billion.”

Subway was once the largest fast food chain in the world by number of locations, but in recent years the company has shut down stores, as have its franchisees. A June 2023 report from Food & Wine said Subway had approximately 36,592 worldwide at that time, putting it in second place behind McDonald’s.

Subway was founded in Connecticut in 1965. Its first store was called Pete’s Super Submarines. Since then, it has expanded its footprint to more than 100 countries across the globe. But in recent years, the chain has struggled as its popular $5 footlong sub made it hard for stores and franchisees to make profits. The chain has also seen its U.S. store number slashed significantly. In 2015, it had over 27,000 locations in the U.S., but by 2022 there were just over 20,000 locations.

Still, in the first half of 2023, same-store sales trended in the right direction—they were up around 9.8%.

Back in February, when Subway announced it was looking to sell, the company said it “remains committed to the future and will continue to execute against its multi-year transformation journey, which includes a focus on menu innovation, modernization of restaurants, and improvements to its overall guest experience.”