Apollo Global Management and Irth Capital Management have approached Papa John’s International for a deal that would take the U.S. pizza chain private, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The investment firms’ joint bid would value Papa John’s, the world’s third-largest pizza delivery company, at just above $60 per share, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deal is private.
Shares of Papa John’s closed 7.5% higher on news of the interest from Apollo and Irth, which was reported earlier on Wednesday by Semafor, giving the pizza chain a market value of $1.7 billion.
Papa John’s declined to comment. Apollo and Irth did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Matthew Bradshaw, co-founder of Qatari-backed Irth, took restaurant Bojangles private at a previous firm. Meanwhile, Apollo has extensive restaurant experience, with current and former investments including Qdoba, Chuck E. Cheese and Wagamama owner Restaurant Group.
Founded in 1984, Papa John’s is co-headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and Louisville, Kentucky. It has more than 6,000 restaurants in around 50 countries and territories.
In 2018 and 2019, the pizza chain had a public fallout with its founder, John Schnatter, who used a racial slur on a conference call. The dispute resulted in lawsuits and a deal with activist investor Starboard Value, whose CEO became chairman of the board of Papa John’s in 2019 after Schnatter left the company.
While Starboard’s influence helped the company turn around its fortunes, restaurant industry players have suggested further work was necessary. This has led some to speculate that Papa John’s could be a take-private target, to allow for more improvements to be made away from the glare of public-market investors.
Source: Reuters.com