Irth Capital bids $47 per share for Papa John’s, WSJ reports

Qatari-backed investment fund Irth Capital Management submitted a bid to take Papa John’s (PZZA) private for $47 per share, Lauren Thomas and Heather Haddon of Wall Street Journal report, citing people familiar with the matter. The bid, which has backing from Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), represented a 50% premium to where Papa John’s shares traded before Irth’s bid was submitted, sources told the Journal. There are no guarantees Papa Johns will be receptive to Irth’s bid and another suitor could emerge, the paper adds. Irth tried acquiring Papa Johns last year with Apollo Global (APO) but the talks fell apart, people familiar with the matter said. Irth recently increased its stake in Papa John’s to around 10%, one of the people said. Shares of Papa John’s jumped 15% to $37.51 before halting for volatility following the report.

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