Jersey Mike’s Subs is selling a significant stake to private equity giant Blackstone, ending its nearly seven-decade run as an independently owned business that transformed into a major competitor against well-entrenched brands like Subway.
Blackstone announced Tuesday that it has acquired a “majority ownership position” in Jersey Mike’s, valued at around $8 billion, according to a source familiar. The influx of cash will help the sandwich chain “accelerate its expansion across and beyond the US market, as well as its continued investment in technology and digital transformation,” a statement said.
Peter Cancro, Jersey Mike’s founder and CEO who’s been with the chain for about 50 years, will remain with the company in the leadership position and gain a “significant equity stake.
The 66-year-old started working at its original location in New Jersey in 1971 when he was a high-school student and bought the location business, then called Mike’s Subs, in 1975 when he was just 17. He tweaked the name in the 1980s and started franchising the brand, helping it grow to about 3,000 locations in US and Canada.
“We believe we are still in the early innings of Jersey Mike’s growth story and that Blackstone is the right partner to help us reach even greater heights,” Cancro said in a statement.
Jersey Mike’s is the second-largest sandwich chain behind Subway in sales. Data from QSR Magazine reveals Jersey Mike’s locations pull in about $1.35 million per unit, with an average Subway location raking in less than $500,000.
Blackstone’s transaction is the largest since Subway sold itself to private equity firm Roark Capital last year for about $9.6 billion.
