Investment giant Blackstone has reportedly been in discussions with Jersey Mike’s Subs about buying the sandwich chain at a potential valuation of $8 billion.
Citing unnamed sources, various media reports indicate that the privately held Point Pleasant-based sandwich chain has held periodic discussions with Blackstone and possibly another interested party.
Jersey Mike’s, formerly known as Mike’s Subs, began as a single sandwich shop in 1956 and now has over 2,800 locations that are open or under development.
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news Friday, cited anonymous sources who described the discussions between Blackstone and Jersey Mike’s as “on-and-off.”
The article said negotiations between Blackstone and Jersey Mike’s had cooled, but asserted the sandwich chain is still open to a deal, either with the private equity firm or another suitor.
The company has grown significantly under the leadership of CEO Peter Cancro, who bought Mike’s Subs in 1975 when he was 17 with funding from a loan he received from a coach and then renamed the shop to Jersey Mike’s. Cancro has been franchising since the 1980s.
