Papa John’s shares tumble as Apollo pulls $2.1 billion takeover offer

Shares of Papa John’s fell 10% yesterday, November 4, after Reuters reported that private equity firm Apollo Global Management had withdrawn its month-old offer to buy the pizza chain.

Shares of Papa John’s, the global pizza chain with more than 6,000 restaurants in nearly 50 countries, dropped 10% to $43.47 per share yesterday. During the session, the stock plunged as much as 21%, marking its steepest intraday fall since the early days of the pandemic, Bloomberg noted.

The selloff followed a Reuters report citing sources who said that Apollo had withdrawn its offer to take Papa John’s private for about $2.1 billion. The offer had implied a 48% premium to the company’s then market capitalization.

Apollo submitted the takeover offer in early October. The news, as reported by StreetInsider.com and Reuters on October 13-14, sent the stock up 13%.

Investors and Wall Street analysts had high hopes for the potential deal, Barron’s wrote. "The involvement of Apollo added financial scale and operational credibility to the bid narrative," Stephens analyst Jim Salera said in a research note cited by MarketWatch.

Recent years have been turbulent for Papa John’s. The troubles began in late 2017, when founder John Schnatter became embroiled in a racism scandal after reportedly using a slur during a conference call. A legal battle between Schnatter and the company lasted more than two years, and he left all management roles in 2019.

That same year, activist Starboard Value joined Papa John’s as an equity investor, helping stabilize the company’s finances. However, market participants continued to speculate about the company going private, which could give the company more flexibility to implement changes, Reuters wrote.

Six years later, in 2025, talk of a take-private deal resurfaced. In February, Semafor reported that investment fund Irth Capital, backed by members of Qatar’s royal family, was interested in acquiring the chain. The news sent Papa John’s shares up 18%. Four months later, Reuters reported that Apollo Global could join Irth in the deal.

In July, Freedom Broker recommended investors buy Papa John’s shares on a short time horizon, setting a short-term target price of $52 per share, which at the time implied 16% upside. Analysts cited the company’s new management, which is shifting its strategy toward digitalization and growth in key international markets. As part of this plan, Papa John’s exited (refranchised or closed) 105 restaurants in the UK.

The company argued its new priorities were beginning to yield results. In the first quarter of 2025, revenue rose 1% year over year to $1.2 billion, supported by comparable-sales growth in global markets, even as North America continued to lag. By the second quarter, the company had managed to get back to growth in its home market as well. Papa John’s plans to release its third-quarter results tomorrow, November 6.

According to MarketWatch data, Wall Street analysts currently assign 11 “hold” ratings and seven “buy” ratings to the stock, with no “sell” calls. The average target price of $51.64 per share implies nearly 19% upside.

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