Majority Owner Blackstone May Seek $12 Billion Valuation
- Jersey Mike’s has confidentially filed for an initial public offering of stock with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Jersey Mike’s majority owner, the private equity firm Blackstone, may seek a valuation of around $12 billion. Blackstone purchased Jersey Mike’s in November 2024.
- Jersey Mike’s reported $4.2 billion in sales last year.
- A confidential filing does not guarantee that Jersey Mike’s will go public.
The Jersey Mike’s franchise disclosed Monday that it has confidentially filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Details about the potential IPO, including the number of shares that will be offered and price per share, have not been finalized, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. Previous reports indicated that Blackstone, the majority owner of the sandwich restaurant franchise, might set its valuation in the neighborhood of $12 billion.
With more than 3,300 locations in the United States and Canada, Jersey Mike’s is the second-largest hoagie sandwich brand in the United States. It trails only Subway, which has more than 13,000 U.S. restaurants and some 37,000 worldwide.
Blackstone’s Ownership of Jersey Mike’s
In November 2024, Blackstone had purchased a majority stake in Jersey Mike’s from owner Peter Cancro for a reported $8 billion. Blackstone also owns the Tropical Smoothie Cafe and has invested in 7 Brew, a drive-thru coffee franchise.
Cancro had led Jersey Mike’s for almost 50 years before the sale to Blackstone. The restaurant originated in 1956 as Mike’s Subs, a single location in Point Pleasant, N.J. Cancro began working there as a teenager in 1971 and in 1975, when he was just 17 years old, he bought the restaurant. He renamed it Jersey Mike’s and began franchising the brand in the late 1980s.
After Blackstone took control, it installed Charlie Morrison as CEO. Morrison formerly led Wingstop, shepherding that franchise through strong growth and an IPO, a CNBC article noted in coverage about the sub brand’s IPO.
Today Cancro serves as Jersey Mike’s board chairman and also is a franchisee. In January of this year, the franchise announced that JM Submarines UK LTD, led by Cancro, would open 400 restaurants in the United Kingdom and Ireland, the first European locations for the brand. A Wall Street Journal article said that Jersey Mike’s leadership has been pushing for international expansion since Blackstone took over.
Jersey Mike’s Sales and Unit Growth
Still headquartered in central New Jersey, Jersey Mike’s posted more than $3 billion in sales in 2023 and in 2025 sales had climbed to $4.2 billion, Franchise Times reported. The franchise’s average unit volume was $1.37 million last year, according to its Franchise Disclosure Document.
The franchise increased its number of locations by 8%, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited statistics from market research firm Technomic. By contrast, Subway’s sales and location numbers waned last year.
What Jersey Mike’s Confidential IPO Filing Means
The confidential SEC filing represents an initial step for the Jersey Mike’s franchise toward becoming a publicly traded stock. If that happens, Jersey Mike’s will execute the first restaurant IPO since Black Rock Coffee Bar’s offering in September of last year, the CNBC report said.
The confidential filing doesn’t necessarily mean that Jersey Mike’s will follow up with an IPO, however. Franchise Times pointed out that Panera Bread made a confidential filing for a potential IPO in 2023 but has never taken the franchise public.
IPO Market Activity in 2025 and 2026
IPO activity has been relatively robust during the past year and a half. In a March 2026 report from the SEC, the federal agency said 374 IPOs occurred in 2025. That’s a significant leap over the 246 total during 2024. (According to Stockanalysis.com, 2008 was the year of the fewest IPOs, with 62, and 2021 was the blockbuster year with a total of 1,035.) Last year’s IPO momentum has stayed relatively stable and has led to optimism among investors and the business arena, with particularly strong interest in artificial intelligence companies and defense-related technology, accounting giant Ernst & Young signaled in a January 2026 analysis. U.S. investors are eagerly anticipating a blockbuster IPO by SpaceX that’s likely this year.
