(New York) Candidates for the takeover of the American sandwich chain Subway must submit their final offers by Tuesday at the latest, a source familiar with the matter told AFP, mentioning a transaction exceeding 9 billion dollars.
The announcement of the buyer could take place as early as Wednesday, said this source close to the negotiations, specifying that the investment companies Roark Capital and a consortium of the American Sycamore Partners and the British TDR Capital were in the running.
Contacted by AFP on Tuesday, Subway declined to comment “regarding the process until the transaction is completed”.
TDR Capital declined to comment. Sycamore and Roark (Arby’s, Dunkin, Baskin-Robbins, Orange Theory gyms, etc.) were not immediately reachable.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Roark appeared to be holding the line on Tuesday with an offer of around $9.6 billion.
Subway announced in February that its shareholders were exploring a possible sale, saying there was no assurance or timeline on the matter.
“Given Roark’s extensive experience in the restaurant industry, this would be a perfect fit for Subway,” GlobalData director Neil Saunders told AFP. “Roark has demonstrated that he knows how to take care of restaurant brands and how to help them grow, including through expansion,” he added.
According to him, Roark “brings more to the table than other investors, but the raw money will ultimately determine who wins.”
The chain, not listed on the stock exchange, is not required to make its financial results public.
It nevertheless gives some indications each quarter: in May, it announced its tenth consecutive quarter of increased sales.
In the first half, they grew by 9.8% at constant number of restaurants worldwide in the first half of 2023. Online sales jumped by 11.1%, quadrupling since 2019.
Subway has more than 37,000 franchised restaurants in more than 100 countries, including more than 20,000 in the United States.
Subway was founded in 1965 in Bridgeport, Connecticut by 17-year-old Fred DeLuca, who was looking to fund his medical studies. Peter Buck, a nuclear physicist friend of his family, lends him the necessary 1000 dollars.
The first died in 2015, the second in 2021. The group has been led since 2019 by John Chidsey, the first boss of Subway not to belong to the families of the founders.