Goldman Sachs Among Subway Bids in $10 Billion Sale: Report
Decades ago, the late Subway co-founders Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck had little idea that their sandwich shop in Bridgeport, Connecticut, would grow into one of the largest restaurant chains in the world — or that Goldman Sachs would try to buy it for 10 Billion dollars.
But that’s apparently what’s happening. Goldman Sachs’ wealth management arm is among those interested in the sandwich chain, which has been put up for sale for an estimated price of $10 billion, according to a Sky News report published on Saturday.
As wealth As reported in January, if such a sale goes through, DeLuca and Buck’s heirs would join the ranks of America’s wealthiest. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the company’s hiring of consultants to explore a sale.
Subway confirmed that a potential sale is under review in mid-February. It said: “There is no indication of the timing or assurance that a sale will take place. JP Morgan is advising the Company and will conduct the sale exploration process. The company does not intend to make any further public comments on the proceeding until it is complete.”
Sky News, citing people who completed the process, said Goldman Sachs is among at least a handful of applicants, including Bain Capital, TDR Capital, TPG and TSG Consumer Partners.
Goldman Sachs declined to comment on the matter wealth. Subway did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In 1965, a teenager, DeLuca, approached Buck, a family friend and nuclear physicist, for advice on funding his college education, Insider said. That led to Buck lending him $1,000 to open a sandwich shop — a move that would eventually make both men billionaires.
DeLuca led the company for decades as it expanded rapidly in the United States and internationally. Buck became largely a tacit co-owner after the company switched to a franchise model in 1973.
From its humble beginnings as Pete’s Super Submarines Shop – which actually paid for DeLuca’s tuition at the University of Bridgeport – the company dwarfed McDonald’s and every other restaurant chain in terms of the number of US locations. Its roughly 21,000 domestic locations posted sales of $9.4 billion in 2021, up 13% from 2020, and it had about 37,000 stores worldwide, according to the company diary.
In 2019, Subway brought in an outsider to the helm, electing former Burger King CEO John Chidsey. But all along it has remained a private company with two families behind the scenes.
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