Quiznos expands overseas to Philippines

Quiznos is moving into the Philippines for the first time with a master franchise agreement that will bring the sandwich chain to Manila later this year. Company officials said Tuesday that it has an agreement with ACA Group to serve as a master franchisee there. It plans to open more than 35 units throughout the Philippines. The ACA Group also holds master franchising rights for the Johnny Rockets brand in the Philippines, said Lee Vala, Quiznos’ international chief development officer. The move into the Philippines is part of an ongoing push for international growth for Denver-based Quiznos, which has more than 650 units outside the United States in 32 countries and territories. Last year, the chain announced master franchise agreements in Brazil, India and Kuwait, and Vala said the company is expecting to announce entrance into another new international market in February, which he could not yet reveal. Quiznos has roughly 2,600 locations in the United States, and growth will continue domestically, Vala said. “But we do look at international markets as a growth area for Quiznos,” he added. More than 400 international franchise locations are expected to open by 2020, the company said. Among them will be new locations in Southern Brazil, as well as some Asian and European markets, Vala said. “The world is my oyster right now,” he said. “We’re talking to a lot of people.” Meanwhile, Quiznos officials are soliciting approval for a proposed debt-for-equity swap that would restructure the beleaguered chain’s finances and provide $150 million in new equity capital. In late December, Quiznos officials said they had reached agreement with a majority of first- and second-lien lenders on the plan, which would substantially reduce the company’s debt. The transaction would put majority ownership in the hands of Avenue Capital Group LLC, an investment firm that currently holds a significant amount of Quiznos’ $875 million debt load, but the deal requires approval from all lien holders and other creditors. If not approved, the alternative is to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company said. Quiznos is owned by private-equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors LLC and Consumer Capital Partners.