Restaurants Brand International (RBI) has announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire Firehouse Subs for $1bn in an all-cash transaction. The transaction offers significant long-term unit growth potential to drive attractive returns for all stakeholders and is expected to be immediately accretive to RBI’s diluted net earnings per share.
“Firehouse Subs is a special brand with a talented team, impressive culture and community focus that resonates with guests and closely aligns with our core values at RBI,” said Jose Cil, CEO of Restaurant Brands International.
“We see tremendous potential to accelerate U.S. and international growth at Firehouse Subs with RBI’s development expertise, global franchisee network and digital capabilities. We are excited to welcome the Firehouse Subs team to the RBI family and to continue our ambitious dream of building the world’s most-loved restaurant brands.”
Firehouse Subs joins brands such as Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Hortons. The brand was founded in 1994 by former firefighters, Chris and Robin Sorensen. Since 2010, Firehouse has tripled the number of its restaurants to 1,200 and quadrupled system-wide sales to an expected $1.1bn for 2021. 97 per cent of the brand’s locations are owned and operated by franchisees across 46 U.S. states, Canada and Puerto Rico.
“At Firehouse Subs we are united in our commitment to and passion for hearty and flavorful food, heartfelt service, and public safety,” said Don Fox, CEO of Firehouse Subs.
“Joining the RBI family of brands provides an energizing opportunity to assist more communities, not only across America and Canada, but around the globe. The donations we generate for our Foundation through our restaurants means changing and saving lives, so we can’t wait to accelerate our journey at home and around the world.”
