The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that several unnamed sources say Roark Capital is in the lead to acquire Subway for well over $9-billion (U.S.) after attaching conditions to some of the windfall the two families that own it will get. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that sources say these conditions, known as an earn-out, defer payment on part of the deal consideration. For the full price to be paid, Subway's cash flow would need to reach certain milestones over a specified period after the deal closes. The previously unreported arrangement helped bridge a gap in the valuation expectations between the DeLuca and Buck families that own Subway and the buyout firms vying for it. The families put Subway up for sale hoping to fetch more than $10-billion (U.S.) based on its strong brand and international growth, but the private equity firms countered it was worth less because they deemed its U.S. business saturated. Sources say a consortium of TDR Capital, Sycamore Partners and Goldman Sachs Group's private equity arm, which has offered less than Roark for Subway, also attached an earn-out to its offer. Further details of the proposed earn-out structures could not be learned.