March 11 (Reuters) – Papa John’s International is reviewing a fresh bid from Irth Capital Management to take the U.S. pizza chain private at a valuation of about $1.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Shareholder Irth has offered $47 per share, the report said, representing a premium of about 44% to the stock’s last closing price. Papa John’s has a market value of around $1.07 billion, according to LSEG data.
Its shares jumped 19% in afternoon trading following the news. Irth did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while Papa John’s declined to comment.
Irth had recently raised its effective stake in Papa John’s to around 10%, the report said, citing one of the people familiar with the matter.
There is no certainty Papa John’s will accept Irth’s offer under review and another bidder could emerge, the WSJ report said, adding that the proposal includes backing from Brookfield Asset Management.
Back in November last year, Apollo Global withdrew its offer to take the pizza chain private for $64 a share. Following that, Irenic Capital Management built a stake, adding to the mounting speculation about the pizza chain’s future.
Apollo and Irth had submitted a joint offer for the company at just above $60 per share earlier last year, before Apollo submitted a solo bid in early October.
Founded in 2024, Irth is backed by a member of the Qatari royal family and is led by co-founders Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulla Al-Thani and Matthew Bradshaw.
A deal for Papa John’s, which has been attempting a turnaround strategy after years of battling weak demand under multiple CEOs, would be among Irth’s first major transactions.
Papa John’s started in Jeffersonville, Indiana, in 1984 and went public in 1993.
(Reporting by Sanskriti Shekhar and Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
