Subway is being sold to a massive private-equity firm, finally moving the sandwich chain away from family ownership after nearly 60 years

• Subway is being purchased by the private-equity company, Roark Capital.
• Roark’s brands include Arby’s, Dunkin’, Buffalo Wild Wings, and rival sub store Jimmy John’s.
• Subway is in the midst of a huge rebrand after suffering from a sales slump.

Subway is being sold to a private-equity company that owns brands including Arby’s, Dunkin’, and Buffalo Wild Wings.

The sandwich-store chain said on Thursday it had entered a definitive agreement to be acquired by affiliates of Roark Capital, six months after it announced it was exploring a sale. The press release didn’t say how much the deal was worth.

“This transaction reflects Subway’s long-term growth potential, and the substantial value of our brand and our franchisees around the world,” Subway CEO John Chidsey said in a statement.

Roark’s other brands include Cinnabon, Culver’s, and Sonic Drive-In. Through Inspire Brands, it also owns another sub chain — Jimmy John’s — which has more than 2,600 stores.

Since the first Subway store opened in 1965, the company has been owned by its two founders, Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck, and their families.

The chain has had a tumultuous few years, including the closure of thousands of its US stores, reports of declining sales, and a media frenzy casting doubt on what its tuna is actually made from.

But the company is in the midst of a huge rebrand designed to reposition the brand and boost its reputation.

Subway has partnered with several celebrities to launch new subs, unveiled its biggest menu revamp, and shifted its focus from customizable sandwiches to standardized ones that are quicker to prepare. It’s also just launched new sandwiches to celebrate the rollout of new deli meat slicers to its US stores.

Its transformation efforts appear to be paying off. The sandwich chain announced last month that it had achieved 10 consecutive quarters of positive sales, including recording its highest weekly average unit volume in North America in the second quarter of 2023. Globally, same-store sales were up 9.8% year-over-year in the first half of 2023, with a 11.1% jump in digital sales.

Subway has nearly 37,000 stores globally.

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