Irth Capital Offers $1.5B to Acquire Papa John’s

Qatar-backed investment fund Irth Capital has submitted an offer to acquire Papa John’s International at $47 per share, marking a renewed attempt to buy the pizza chain after earlier efforts alongside Apollo Global Management last year.

According to Reuters, the proposal values the company at approximately $1.5 billion. Irth Capital already owns around 10% of Papa John’s, with roughly half of that stake held through derivatives.

Sources familiar with the discussions said that Papa John’s board has not yet decided whether to accept the offer, which remains under review. They added that other bidders could still emerge during the process.

Following the initial report by the Wall Street Journal, the company’s stock surged nearly 20%, closing trading at $38.86 per share.

Earlier, Apollo Global Management withdrew its offer to take the pizza chain private at $64 per share, after previously submitting a joint bid with Irth Capital at just above $60 per share last year.

Irth Capital is no longer working with Apollo, and its current proposal includes backing from Brookfield Asset Management, according to one of the sources.

Founded in 2024 and backed by a member of the Qatari royal family, Irth Capital is led by co-founders Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulla Al-Thani and Matthew Bradshaw. A potential acquisition of Papa John’s would represent one of the fund’s first major transactions.

Papa John’s, founded in Jeffersonville, Indiana, in 1984, went public in 1993 and has been pursuing a turnaround strategy after years of weak demand under multiple CEOs.