Fast food chain Subway will likely have a new owner soon. According to The Wall Street Journal, Roark Capital, which owns Arby’s and Buffalo Wild Wings, is finalizing the acquisition of Subway in a deal that is reportedly worth $9.6 billion.
Subway announced its intention to find a buyer at the beginning of 2023, with reports saying that the company was asking north of $10 billion. The company hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. as advisors and targeted June for finalizing the process.
More than 10 private-equity firms were rumored to have made a bid for Subway. TDR Capital and Sycamore Partners even considered joining their forces in attempts to acquire the fast food chain, but Roark Capital now beat them to the punch.
Subways recently made efforts to improve slumping sales by reworking their menu, increasing spending on marketing, and revamping their restaurants. These moves seem to be giving some results early on, as the company saw a 9.3% increase in same-store sales in the first two quarters of 2023.
Subway declined to share details about the acquisition process when reached out to by Reuters.
“Subway does not intend to make any further public comment regarding the process until the transaction has been completed,” the company said in a statement.