1320 ET - A lower price point for Papa John's International makes sense, Benchmark analyst Todd Brooks writes following WSJ reports that Irth Capital Management is leading a $1.5 billion bid to take the company private. Irth previously offered to buy the company alongside Apollo Global for a reported price of $67 a share, but pizza economics have been pressured since as Domino's has led an aggressive charge into price point promotions. Papa John's has struggled to attract new customers and is poorly positioned to compete on value over the long-term, Brooks writes. "Given the change in the industry environment over the 2H25, we understand why Irth and Brookfield would reportedly come back with a bid that would be lower than the prior reported bid by Irth and Apollo Global," he writes. Papa John's falls 4.8% following a surge Wednesday. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 12, 2026 13:20 ET (17:20 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.