Reading that Subway is exploring a sale led me to discover that it's a privately held company?!

The world's second largest fast food restaurant chain…

Who needs a sandwich brand?

Not Restaurant Brands International Inc., which owns Burger King, Popeyes, Tim Hortons, and Firehouse Subs.

Not JAB Holding Company, which owns Einstein Bros./Noah's Bagels, Krispy Kreme, Peet's Coffee, Pret A Manger, and Panera Bread.

Not Inspire Brands Inc., which owns Arby's, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin', Sonic Drive-In, and Jimmy John's.

That leaves…Yum! Brands? Combination Pizza Hut and Subway?

KFC, Taco Bell, Subway, Pizza Hut, The Habit Burger Grill

Would McDonald's, the world's largest fast food restaurant chain, be interested?

Chipotle: The Definitive Oral History » The McDonald's Era (1998-2005)

Bless their hearts, McDonald's had a lot of suggestions, and we were always polite about it. They really wanted us to do drive-throughs. They really wanted us to do breakfast. But we just really didn't do any of that.

One of the McDonald's guys thought we should call it "Chipotle Fresh Mexican Grill," because the term "fresh" was such a great term.

Breakfast – check. "Fresh" – check. Drive-throughs, though…