Subway Just Sold for Billions to Owner of Dunkin’ and Jimmy John's

The brand is eating fresh all the way to the bank.

The sandwich chain Subway is raking in the dough, and not just when it comes to the dough for its freshly baked sandwich bread. According to reports, private equity firm Roark Capital is purchasing Subway for about $9.6 billion.

A family-owned and -operated company since the mid-1960s, Subway put itself up for sale in February of this past year. Subway isn’t the only restaurant business Roark is tied to. The private equity firm has also invested in Dunkin', Arby’s, The Cheesecake Factory, Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic, Carl’s Jr., and even Subway competitor Jimmy John’s.

In a press release, Subway CEO John Chidsey said, "This transaction reflects Subway's long-term growth potential, and the substantial value of our brand and our franchisees around the world…Subway has a bright future with Roark, and we are committed to continuing to focus on a win-win-win approach for our franchisees, our guests and our employees."

This news comes on the heels of another large food deal: the acquisition of Rao’s Homemade by Campbell’s. And while fans were very concerned about that deal and the potential for Rao’s sauces to be changed, Subway customers don’t exactly seem to have similar quality concerns. In one Reddit thread responding to the news, a commenter said, “I hope this results in a better quality product and better treatment of franchise owners.” Other commenters generally responded with apathy and pessimism (ouch).

The sale comes after Subway spent the past few years attempting to improve the business by doing things such as offering freshly sliced meat and renovating stores. Regardless of who owns the brand, we’ll still be keeping a lookout for free sandwich deals.

Read the original article on All Recipes.