Subway sale heats up as US firms eye joint bid
Three American firms are buyout firms are considering a joint takeover of Subway, in a deal which could be worth $10bn (£8.3bn).
Buyout firms Advent International, Bain Capital, and TPG are exploring the possibility of a collective bid as the auction of the sandwich chain nears the end of its second round of bidding, Sky News has reported.
The firms face competition from Asda owners the Issa brothers, as well as an arm of Wall Street banking giant Goldman Sachs.
Subway’s controlling family shareholders have instructed JP Morgan to oversee an auction of the business, which bankers expect to fetch a valuation of between $8bn (£6.6bn) and $10bn (£8.3bn).
Bidders have so far been prohibited from making joint bids, however the sheer size of the sale means private equity firms will need to join forces if they are to generate the funds to complete a takeover of the business.
Subway, which trades from over 2,000 sites in the UK, was founded in Connecticut in 1965 and has remained family-owned ever since.