Dunkin’ owner buys Subway

Subway, the world’s largest sandwich chain, is no longer a family business: the fast-food player has been bought by investment fund Roark Capital Group, which sees growth potential for tens of thousands of additional locations.

Billion-dollar deal

Until now, Subway was still owned by the families of founders Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck, who opened their first sandwich shop in 1965. However, Roark Capital Group has now agreed on a takeover price of 9.55 billion dollars (8.8 billion euros) – slightly less than the ten billion dollars the owners were initially aiming for. According to the Wall Street Journal, a dozen candidates have been bidding against each other since February.

The new owner – who also has Dunkin’ in its portfolio – sees potential for as many as 23,000 additional sandwich shops, mostly outside the US and Europe. Today, Subway has some 37,000 outlets in more than 100 countries. In number of restaurants, it is the largest fast-food chain in the world.

In the Netherlands, Subway has as many as 180 sandwich shops, but remarkably only one is left in Belgium: in Leuven. Several attempts to build a strong position in the country have so far proved futile. The sandwich shop market in Belgium is dominated by local player Panos, with more than 250 outlets.