Papa John’s International is examining a renewed takeover proposal from Irth Capital Management, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing people familiar with the matter.
The fresh proposal will take the pizza chain private at a valuation of $1.5bn. The proposal has financial backing from Brookfield Asset Management.
Irth has put forward an offer of $47 per share, implying a premium of approximately 44% over the most recent closing price of the company’s stock.
As of Tuesday (11 March), Papa John’s had a market value of around $1bn.
The move follows Irth’s attempt last year to buy Papa John’s alongside private-equity firm Apollo Global Management, though the talks ended without an agreement.
However, Irenic Capital Management built a stake in Papa John’s to 10% recently, a source told WSJ.
The publication added that there is no assurance that Papa John’s will agree to Irth’s latest offer, and additional interested parties could still surface.
Irth was created in 2024 as a global asset manager. Headed by co-founders Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulla Al-Thani and Matthew Bradshaw, it is supported by a member of the Qatari royal family.
A potential acquisition of Papa John’s would rank among Irth’s first major moves.
Papa John’s is said to have been working on a turnaround effort in recent years following a prolonged period of softer demand and a succession of leadership changes.
Last month, Papa John’s International reported a fall in profit for Q4 and FY25. Net income for the quarter that ended on 28 December 2025 declined to $8.6m from $14.96m the year before.
“Papa John’s weighs Irth Capital’s $1.5bn take-private bid – report” was originally created and published by Verdict Food Service, a GlobalData owned brand.
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