Papa John’s shares surge on report of Apollo takeover offer at 53% premium

Shares of international pizza chain Papa John’s jumped 13% in trading yesterday, October 15, after reports that investment company Apollo Global Management had made an offer to take the business private at a significant premium.

Papa John’s shares closed yesterday at $54.95 per share, the highest mark since June 11. The stock rose sharply on growing hopes that Apollo will take the company private, Barron’s reports.

Apollo submitted an offer last week to take over the pizza chain at $64 per share, StreetInsider wrote on Monday, October 13, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters confirmed this the following day. Both Apollo and Papa John’s declined to comment. Apollo’s proposal implies a premium of about 53% relative to the Friday closing price of $41.59 per share, though Reuters noted there is no certainty that the deal will proceed.

Following the rally, Papa John’s market capitalization reached about $1.7 billion, and the stock is up 29% year to date.

“The involvement of Apollo added financial scale and operational credibility to the bid narrative,” Stephens analyst Jim Salera wrote on October 13 in a research note cited by MarketWatch.

Last week, BofA Securities downgraded Papa John’s from “buy” to “neutral." According to MarketWatch data, the stock has 16 analyst ratings in total: 10 “holds” versus five “buys” and one “overweight.” The average target price is $51 per share, implying upside of about 4.6%.

Reuters reported in June that Apollo, together with investment firm Irth Capital Management, had made a joint offer to acquire Papa John’s at just above $60 per share. Other activist investors are also said to be showing interest in the pizza chain.

Private-equity firms have been snapping up restaurant chains in recent years. Roark Capital acquired Subway in 2024 for roughly $9.6 billion, and Dave’s Hot Chicken in 2025 for about $1 billion, while Blackstone purchased a majority stake in Jersey Mike’s Subs.

The AI translation of this story was reviewed by a human editor.