Blackstone Buys Jersey Mike’s Subs

Private equity giant Blackstone (New York) has acquired a controlling interest in Jersey Mike’s Subs (Manasquan, N.J.), with an eye toward further expanding the franchisor of fast-casual submarine sandwich stores. While deal participants did not disclose a price tag, financial news outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and Reuters placed it at roughly $8 billion.

Jersey Mike’s Founder and CEO Peter Cancro will maintain a significant equity stake and continue to lead the business, which currently has about 3000 quick-service restaurants.

Said Cancro: “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. Blackstone has helped drive the success of some of the most iconic franchise businesses globally and we look forward to working with them to help make significant new investments going forward.”

Said Peter Wallace, a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone: “Jersey Mike’s has grown for more than half a century by maintaining an unrelenting focus on quality (and delicious sandwiches) – consistently building on its loyal customer base as it has scaled nationwide. Blackstone has deep experience helping accelerate the expansion of high-growth franchise businesses and this area is one of our highest-conviction investment themes. We are excited to partner with an entrepreneur of Peter’s caliber and the talented Jersey Mike’s team. Our capital and resources will help support key investments in growth and technology for the benefit of Jersey Mike’s customers and exceptional franchisees.”

Blackstone has a history of acquiring and growing franchisors, including its previous buys of Hilton Hotels and Servpro – and has also recently invested in Tropical Smoothie Cafe and 7Brew.