Qatari-backed fund offers $1.5bn for pizza giant Papa John’s: Report

Irth Capital offers $47 per share for Papa John’s International, sources have told Reuters news agency.Published On 12 Mar 2026Qatari-backed investment fund Irth Capital has this month made a $47-per-share offer to buy pizza chain Papa John’s International, marking a second takeover attempt after a previous bid alongside Apollo Global Management last year, the Reuters news agency reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.The offer would value the company at $1.5bn. Irth already owns roughly 10 percent of the company, ⁠with half of its stake in derivatives, one of the sources said.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Qatar Investment Authority targets $45bn in US investmentslist 2 of 3Does Mamdani mean business, New York’s small businesses wonder?list 3 of 3Business of Warend of listIrth declined Al Jazeera’s request for comment, citing legal reasons.There is no certainty Papa John’s will accept Irth’s offer under review, and another bidder could emerge, said the two sources, who could not speak publicly about ‌the private talks. The Papa John’s stock price surged nearly 20 percent after The Wall Street Journal first reported news of the bid and closed trading at $38.86.Private equity giant Apollo Global withdrew its offer to take the pizza giant private for $64 a share, Reuters reported in November.Following this development, activist investor Irenic Capital Management built ⁠a stake in Papa John’s, adding to the ⁠mounting speculation about the pizza chain’s future.Apollo and Irth Capital Management 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, Reuters previously reported. Irth is no longer working with Apollo and its proposal includes ⁠backing from Brookfield Asset Management, one of the ⁠sources said.